


These Are The Days Of Our Lives

by CillDaraCailin



Series: Robyn and Taron [13]
Category: Taron Egerton - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Cuddles, Emotions, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humour, Hurt, Love, Protection, Reunions, Swearing, Trauma, Trust, Worry, excitment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 70,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29266608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CillDaraCailin/pseuds/CillDaraCailin
Summary: It is the weekend of Robyn's birthday celebrations and Taron had been very secretive with his plans, keeping tight lipped about what he has in store for his favourite Irish friend. With a bundle of surprises ahead of her, Robyn makes her way to London excited to see Taron once more but perhaps a little nervous of what the Welshman has up his sleeve, ready as best she can be for whatever he has in store for her.This is the the next story in the Robyn and Taron series and follows on from where Heaven for Everyone left off.
Relationships: Taron Egerton & Original Female Character
Series: Robyn and Taron [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1738636
Comments: 61
Kudos: 10





	1. “Birthdays were made for going wild over the people we think are amazing.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all!!  
> I finally have another story ready to go! I only finished it yesterday but want to get something posted for you all :).  
> I hope you enjoy this one.  
> Suze xx  
> *Disclaimer - I don't know Taron and this is all just a piece of fiction*

Robyn shook her head towards the air steward as he asked her if she would like anything to drink.

“No thanks.” She answered turning her attention back to her wordsearch in her hands, taking a glance out of the window, seeing nothing but willowy grey and white clouds. Her lips had been in a permanent grin since she reached the airport and she was beyond excited at her reason for flying back to London again. A certain thirty-one-year-old man who had a weekend of surprises planned for her, the Welshman keeping tight lipped when she tried to tease it out of him even bribing him with the promise of a full back massage.

“Robyn why on earth would I even take you up on that offer when I have a book full of massage vouchers to be used whenever I want?” Was his reply.

Robyn grunted at him over the phone, frowning as he chuckled her way.

“Chicken, you really don’t have patience when it comes to certain things, do you? It’s only two days and then all will be revealed. It’s your turn for a bunch of surprises and treats.”

Shaking her head as she recalled the conversation with him, Taron not giving into her, even when she threatened to never give him a head massage again.

“Do you even think you can hold yourself to that? You know that’s your favourite thing to do for me.”

Robyn had to admit defeat herself, knowing first that she would never not be able to give him a head massage and second that she would have to wait until see she saw him to know what he was up too and went along with the change in conversation as she asked him about his filming. She did try to get the plan from him as they came to the end of the phone call, easing it back into their laughter but Taron only chuckled at her again.

“You can wait Robyn.” He insisted.

She turned her phone over on the airplane tray top, grinning at the pop socket of his face which was still stuck on her back cover. Even with the slagging she had gotten from Emma, Robyn hadn’t been tempted to take it off. It was a little reminder of her wonderful weekend with him at his premier, the cushion he got her sitting beside cwtch in the corner of her couch, the lava lamp on her dressing table in her bedroom.

Turning her phone back over, she pressed play on her music app, smiling to herself as Taron’s voice filled her ears, the Rocketman soundtrack her chosen music choice for the short flight to London. For the first time since New Year’s Eve when she went to visit Taron in Aberystwyth, Robyn’s journey to the airport was a stress free one. She left work on time, drove to the airport and arrived with two hours to spare for strolling around the duty free, giving her lots of time to frown at the over-priced products. Once settled in window seat of the airplane, she had pulled out her phone and without a second thought, chose her most over used playlist to listen to; songs that reminded her of Taron or of him singing himself. She scrolled through her messages from Taron, his zipped smiley face emojis making her grin. She had tried to get him to talk about his plans for the weekend through text message too but his answer came back with the tight-lipped zipped emoji and all she knew was that he had something planned, so gave in asking him yesterday, realising she had to be patient and trust in Taron and his secretive birthday plans.

His skype call on her birthday was very early and from set in London and after he had sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to her twice, once in English and then again in Welsh, he had just told her to bring two nice outfits, one more fancy then the other for the weekend plans and left it at that. Robyn of course started to panic and had begged him for more information about the weekend but Taron had answered her with a ‘I have it all under control chicken.’ After another worried phone call explain to him what she was bringing to wear, Taron had told her that her two chosen outfits were perfect for what he had planned. Robyn still wasn’t convinced that her second outfit was good enough for his secret evening activity, concerned it was another red-carpeted event, so took a late-night shopping trip to the designer dress shop in the next town to pick up a brand-new special dress, even ringing Stella for advice as she stood in the dressing room. It was packed neatly in her suitcase ready to be worn with a pair of matching heels and she hoped it would be suited for his plans.

She happily sighed as she closed her eyes, listening to Tiny Dancer, the fingers of her left hand running over the healing bruises on the back of her right hand. It had taken the four weeks since she had last seen Taron for the worst of the bruising to fade and thankfully, even with the light blue and yellow discolouring on her skin, she had full use of her hand which she was so grateful for. It made the mundane tasks simple again and was glad that she could now blow dry her hair properly and wouldn’t have to worry about asking Taron to help her in and out of her dress, though she hadn’t really objected to his help out of the green one, or the lightest of touches he made with his fingers on the skin of her sides. Memories of dancing to her new favourite Elton song at Taron’s premier flashed through her mind and she grinned. Her thoughts then turned to the tabloids on the Monday, the showbiz pages of all the newspapers had their picture as the main focus of the articles about the premier and Robyn counted her lucky stars as the words underneath the picture were kind and lovely, the critics raving about Taron’s movie and their framed picture on her piano took pride of place in the middle of all of her other photos of her and Taron together. She half smiled as Take Me to the Pilot came on and skipped the song, moving on through the sound track.

She had absolutely no idea what Taron was up to for the weekend apart from the fact that he was working late that evening and he had told her to let herself into his flat in London which she was very much looking forward too, planning to snoop thoroughly through every inch of his place in the same way he had snooped through hers last year. Whatever he had up his sleeve, she was just happy to be seeing him again, glad he had the two days off from filming, giving him an emotional break from the demanding script, his first since he started back working. It would be another quick forty-eight hours but with Taron’s tight schedule, she was glad to get any time with him.

The flight was a quick forty minutes and having been through Heathrow airport four times in the last five months, Robyn could walk to the baggage carousel with her eyes closed. After a quick trip to the toilet, she pulled her case from the moving belt and wandered toward the arrival’s hall. She stopped for two minutes to text Taron, not expecting a text back as she knew he was working through his extremely busy daily schedule as he filmed with Matthew but wanted him to know she had arrived safe. Making her way out of arrivals with her suitcase, Taron had told her he had organised a driver for her to bring her to his flat and she smiled as she recognised the smartly dressed man waiting for her at the exit to the airport as she headed towards the pick-up area of arrivals.

“Miss Quinn!” Anthony grinned, laughing as Robyn rushed towards him with a light jog and gave him an unexpected hug. “So lovely to see you again.”

Robyn smiled back his way as they took a step apart. “You too Anthony and you know you can call me Robyn.”

“Of course Miss Quinn.” He nodded taking her case from her. “Going to Taron’s, right?”

“Please.”

Robyn went to open the car door but felt a hand on hers as Anthony shook his head her way. “Miss Quinn, you should know by now how this works.” Robyn stepped back and he opened the door for her, gesturing for her to get into the car.

“Thank you.” Once inside the car she let Anthony close the door and smiled to herself, taking her shoulder bag off and putting it to her left, her head turning in the same direction as she wanted to route through her bag for her phone to give Taron another text to say thanks for asking Anthony to pick her up when she noticed the very large bunch of flowers on the back seat beside her. She reached over to pick up the bunch of colourful flowers, different varieties in the bouquet, a card stuck in the very middle. “Taron…” She murmured to herself.

“I see you got his flowers.” Antony settled himself into the driver’s seat, seeing Robyn’s reflection in the rear-view mirror.

“I see Taron is up to his old surprise tricks.”

Anthony turned around in the seat to look at her. “Taron is not actually the person behind these flowers. I suggest you read the card Miss Quinn.”

Robyn stared at Anthony, trying to frown at him as he called her Miss Quinn again but he only gave her a small wink and started the car.

“We will at Taron’s within the hour Miss Quinn.”

As the car pulled away from the curb, Robyn took the card from the centre of the flowers and opened the small envelope.

‘My dear darling Robyn. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday. I look forward to another duet with you. We must organise another visit soon. I never did get to hear you play but would most definitely enjoy your company once again. Hope you get everything and more that you wish for on your special day. Love Elton and David.’

Robyn’s mouth dropped as she read the card once more, catching Anthony’s eye in the mirror. “Not from who you thought.”

“How did Elton know it was my birthday?”

“You do know that Taron and Elton are friends Miss Quinn?”

“You do know that Miss Quinn is my mother?” Robyn answered bringing the flowers to her face to smell their fragrance.

“I believe your mother is actually Mrs Quinn, Miss Quinn and Elton wanted to mark the occasion of your birthday with something.”

“You will have to thank him for me. These are beautiful.”

“I will do Miss Quinn.” Anthony chuckled as his passenger frowned at him. “Sit back and relax Robyn. We will be at Taron’s soon.”

Placing the flowers carefully beside her, Robyn got her phone from her bag and finally got to text Taron. Knowing he wouldn’t get the two messages until he had a break in filming, she popped her phone back in her bag and ran her right hand over the pink plastic wrap of her flowers. She had barely stepped out of the airport and already was met with a birthday surprise, starting to worry about what Taron had in store. He had been so secretive about it all and her mind drifted back to his birthday weekend in Aber. It had been a wonderful weekend getting to know his family, nice and simple with no plans at all, their sudden swim in the ocean the only unexpected surprise and with their relationship changing so much over the last few months, Robyn was a little nervous about what he had in store for her, especially as she became more open to his world in the public eye but she knew he wouldn’t do anything she would be uncomfortable with. Leaning her head back against the headrest, she couldn’t help but smile. Four weeks seemed like an age since she had a wonderfully tight squishy hug from Taron and she had a feeling her birthday hug from him was going to be a great one.

The drive to Taron’s apartment block was quick and as Anthony took her bag out of the boot of the car, Robyn waited patiently with her flowers.

“Are you sure you can manage Miss Quinn? I can help you carry this inside.”

“I can manage thank you Anthony and please call me Robyn.”

Anthony grinned at her. “Enjoy your evening Miss Quinn and I will see you and Taron tomorrow.”

“Oh so you call Taron Taron but you won’t call me Robyn?” She stood with her hands on her hips as he got back into the car, her flowers on top of her case.

“Good evening Miss Quinn!”

Robyn rolled her eyes as he closed the car door and drove off slowly leaving her alone outside the gates to the apartment complex. She picked up her flowers and wheeled her case over to the pillar with the keypad on it, pressing the code in which Taron had given her to open the gates. She waited for them to open enough so she could walk through and pulled her case behind her entering the grounds of the private apartments.

“Good evening Miss Quinn.” Ben the security guard, strolled out of his box and leaned against the door giving her a wave. “Happy birthday.”

She gave him a small wave, stopping as he hopped out of his security hut and strolled over to her. “Taron asked me to give you this.” He handed her a key. “Said you would need it to get in to his flat.”

Robyn took the key from him and pushed it into the right front pocket of her jeans. “Yes please. Thank you.”

“No problem. Have a good birthday.”

“Thank you Ben.” Robyn smiled his way and then kept walking towards Taron’s block, shaking her head as she walked. She knew she had to get the key for his flat from the security guard and it really shouldn’t have been a surprise to her that even the security guard knew it was her birthday weekend but it seemed Taron had told the whole world about his weekend with her. Pushing her way in through the doors, she reached the lift and once on Taron’s floor, headed to the end of the corridor to his apartment. She dug the key from her pocket and held it against the keypad, the door unlocking with ease. The apartment was dark in comparison to the light of the hallway but Robyn figured with his very early starts on set, Taron just got up and ran, not bothering to open curtains around his home. She dragged her case in, the bag falling over onto the ground as she fumbled along the wall for a light switch, not remembering quite where it was. She kept the door open with her left foot giving some light into his flat and eventually she found the light switch. Bight light flooded the open space of his living area and as she thought, it looked like he had left in a hurry. The grey fleece blanket she had given him was in a bundle on his couch, a cup on his coffee table. She pushed her case over with her foot and walking into his living area, placed the key and flowers on the coffee table beside his couch. Shrugging her light coat off, she threw it onto his couch too and walked into the dark kitchen, heading straight for where she thought the light switch was. She flicked it on and screamed as a loud shout and bang disrupted the silence of the apartment.

“Surprise!”

Robyn turned her on feet, her heart beating incredibly fast in her chest and tried to catch her breath as a flutter of colourful confetti fell over her head, Taron the other side of the island in the kitchen smiling her way, his hands in the air, a party hat on his head, a glittery rainbow banner over his right shoulder.

“Jesus Christ Taron!”

On seeing the shock in her face, Taron quickly walked around the island to stand in front of her. He knew he finished filming early on the Friday that Robyn was coming to London and he hadn’t told her so, wanting to surprise her for her birthday but he never meant to give her a fright and as he placed his hands on her shoulders, he gave them both a squeeze, watching as her eyes looked to him.

“Surprise.” He repeated again but a little quieter this time.

As Robyn placed her hands on his chest to steady herself, she was relieved to know it was Taron who had frightened her but she could have killed him for giving her a slight heart attack. She saw the concern in his eyes and tilted her head at him a little taking in the hat on his head and birthday banner over his shoulder, seeing his concern change into a grin as he took his hands from her shoulders. She caught his quick movements as he pulled something from his back pocket and she jumped a little as he pulled another confetti popper over the two of them.

“Happy Birthday!” He cried excitedly, chucking the now empty popper behind him and quickly pulling her body into his for a hug, her hands trapped between the two of them. “Happy birthday.” He repeated into her hair, smiling at the confetti scattered through her ponytail, rubbing her back in circles. “I think I scared you. Not my intention at all. It was meant to be a surprise.”

“Oh it was a surprise all right.” Robyn mumbled into his shoulder, breathing in his freshly showered scent, freeing her hands so she could give him a hug back. “Thought you were filming.”

“I was.” He gently kissed her head. “This morning.”

“You plan all this? To get the day off?”

“I wish I could say yes but nope just the way our schedule worked this week. We were actually supposed to be finished at eleven but we ran over. I had trouble with a scene.”

Robyn moved her head from his shoulder. “You ok?”

Taron nodded. “Some of the lines are just horrible and hard to react to. It is very difficult to stay in character at times.”

“Sounds like you need a squishy hug this time.”

Taron smiled a little sadly. “I definitely could have done with one earlier but I am ok now.”

“You sure?” Robyn asked as she reached up to take some confetti from his forehead.

“Yep.”

“I am going to give you one anyway.” Robyn said firmly as she pulled him close to her, one hand flat on his lower back, the other going to the back of his head, scratching his scalp deeply. “Apart from the difficult scene today, filming going well?” Robyn knew how hard Taron was finding the abusive script and was emotionally drained by it already and it was only a month into filming. He hadn’t given her the indebt details of the script but Robyn understood that the part of the son that Taron was playing was subjected to physical and emotional abuse within the script from his father. Over the last week the scenes required more specific details and Taron had to sit in make-up now, Stephanie, the same make-up artist from Kingsman, applying bruising effects to his skin just making the realism behind the movie much harder to take in.

“It is. We are on schedule which Matthew is delighted about and will be due to move to Belfast now in the next two weeks.” Taron nestled into Robyn’s neck. “You will come and visit me, right?” He asked in a whisper.

“Naturally and I will be bringing cookies with me.”

“Just for me though?”

Robyn moved her hand to the short hairs at the back of his neck, her fingers running in light circles on his skin, some confetti falling from the back of his head as she gave him a small massage. “Only for you.”

Their cuddle was close and tight and Robyn kissed his neck lightly, grinning as he lifted her off her feet a little.

“Happy Birthday Robyn.”

“Thanks Taron.”

He carefully let her go, Robyn finally getting a chance to look at him. A tiredness was evident on his face but it wasn’t from lack of sleep but more so an emotional fatigue and his eyes looked laden with worry even though his mood had been bright and cheery when he surprised her. The short-cropped hair was the same cut, if not a little shorter, as when he came to see her in April and the tight shave around his ears and back of his head was waiting to be scratched with her fingers. Not even hesitating, Robyn brought her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks very lightly, her hands moving to his head, taking the birthday hat from his head and letting it hang off her elbow. She returned her hands to his head and let her nails graze his scalp as she went. As expected, his head fell towards his chest and she was very happy to continue her little treat for him.

“Jesus Robyn.” Taron moaned as she knew exactly how to scratch his head, which spots to hit and how to literally make him melt on her hands. He felt her body move closer to his and his forehead rested on her shoulder as she deeply massaged his head, another grateful moan leaving his lips when she further increased the pressure she was using. A long happy breath left his body along with the stress he had felt that morning and he was amazed with how easy it was for this wonderful woman in front of him to know what he needed so quickly. He would have stayed with her hands in his hair all evening but this weekend was for Robyn and reluctantly he reached up to take her hands from his head, kissing each one as he lifted his face from her shoulder. “Thank you.” Her smile was perfect and as always, his heart skipped a beat with love for her.

“Any time.” It was quick two-minute massage and Robyn could see a slight light back in his eyes and she loved being able to give Taron that feeling of relief, even more so getting to give him a small massage and hear the appreciative sounds that came from him as she gave him a little bit of pleasure. His quiet moans made her shiver and her body tingle in all the right places.

“These are actually for you.” Taron took the cone shaped birthday hat from her elbow and carefully placed it on her head and then slipped the rainbow birthday banner from his shoulder and over his head, onto her body, making sure it was sitting right. “You need to look the part.”

“And do I?” She jumped as he pulled another confetti popper from another pocket of his jeans, another cloud of coloured paper confetto falling over the two of them. “You need to stop doing that.”

“Last one, promise.” He grinned, fixing the hat so it sat a little straighter on her head. “And yes you do. Ready for all the birthday activities.”

As Taron fixed the hat on her head, her eyes glanced past him and to the island in his kitchen, only then noticing the mess on the marble countertop. “What on earth have you been up too? What are you making?”

Taron’s eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open. “Oh shit!” He stepped away from her and quickly dashed around the island to open the oven, Robyn following him, looking at the chaos of stuff on the island. Bowls, spilt flour, a weighing scales and food colouring littered the usual tidy kitchen unit. She watched him open the oven and saw a cloud of smoke puff out from the oven. She heard his curse loud and clear along with a second one and a clatter of something metal.

“Taron?” She walked over to him as he stood running his hands through his short hair and then down his face, a new aura frustration radiating from him, his whole body slightly hunched in exasperation. She came to stand beside him and saw what had caused his sudden change in mood. “Oh Taron. It’s not that bad.”

He turned to look her way. “Not that bad? Not that bad?” He repeated. “Robyn it’s black. It’s meant to be pink! It’s the last layer and I ruined it.”

She stepped a little closer to him, wrapping her right arm around his waist and she could feel the tension as he now stood straight, his body almost shaking in his growing irritation. “You baked?”

“If you call this disaster baked, then sure, I baked.” He groaned furiously. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. Make something for you and I even followed the recipe you wrote down. I figured I made the key lime pie for my mam; I could make the rainbow cake for you but of course I fucked it up.” He pushed the tin away from him in anger, cursing once more as the hot tin burned the tip of his index finger. He immediately brought his finger to his mouth, sucking on it to ease the slight heat he felt.

Robyn gave his side another tight squeeze, taking his hand from his mouth, running her own index finger over the tip of his slightly red one. “It is ok Taron.”

“No it’s fucking not.” He returned irritably pulling his hand from her roughly. “One thing I wanted to do for you, that I did myself, that’s not from a shop and I fucking ruined it.” In huff of frustration and annoyance, Taron stormed past Robyn and out of the kitchen and she heard the bedroom door slam loudly, leaving her completely bewildered standing in the kitchen alone.

Robyn stood still entirely perplexed by Taron’s sudden and complete change in his mood and pulled the slightly cooled baking tin towards her. She could understand his disappointment as she touched the burnt cake but couldn’t figure out why he was so infuriated. She turned to face the island, taking the three steps needed to cross over the kitchen floor. A mess was an understatement for what Taron had been up to as he baked. Her eyes roamed the table and sitting on the left corner was the memory book she had made him last year, the page for the rainbow cake open and lightly dusted with floury fingerprints. She walked over to the book and smiled sadly, his upset becoming more understandable. When he came to visit her, it must always have seemed to him like her life was perfect especially when he always got a good sleep and respite with her and he only wanted to return the favour to her, giving her the same love and affection that she always gave to him. From the outside it looked like her life was perfect but she had her own worries and troubles just as he had.

She turned the book over and flicked through a few pages, her smile growing as she looked at the photos she had stuck into his book. Such lovely memories filled her mind but her face became sad as she picked up the book to look at his bruised and hurt face in the photo of him kissing her cheek. It was the first photo they had taken together, their first kiss. Sometimes her dreams were still filled with images of Taron unconscious in the 7/11 and lately she woke up with a fright, her hands shaking. Now at the end of May it was only three months away since she had saved his life and she wasn’t surprised to be caught up in the horrible nightmares again. She ran her fingers over the photo of them. They had had so many more kisses and hugs and touches and moments since then and she felt her heart flutter as she thought about the closeness they had with other, how warm his body was, how wonderful it felt to be back in his arms.

“Robyn get a grip.” She said to herself, feeling her cheeks blush and that all too familiar heat on her skin that seemed to be gaining fire the more she thought about Taron, the more she was in his presence.

She turned the pages in the book and it warmed her heart to see how well he had looked after the leather journal but also how he had tried to make her something special for her birthday using one of the recipes she had wrote out for him. She could imagine how perfect he wanted this weekend to be for her and a burnt cake just pushed an already emotional charged and tired man over the edge.

She closed the book over, took off her birthday hat and banner, leaving them beside the sink and walked down the small hallway towards his bedroom and the closed door. She didn’t bother to knock but pushed down the handle and let the door roll open and took a single step into his room. It was dark inside, his curtains pulled and no lights on, the only brightness came from the open bedroom door but the body on the bed could only have been Taron’s. Laying on his stomach, his face was buried in the green dinosaur in his hands and he was so still, Robyn found it very hard to see in the dark the easy rise and fall of his back as he breathed.

“Taron?” She called quietly, a mumble coming back to her in reply. Walking over to the double bed, she climbed up beside him. “Taron?” He didn’t answer her this time and she moved closer to him, sliding down the pillows a little so her hip was in line with his head. Without even asking him she placed her right hand onto the crown of his head and very gently started to run her fingers in circles over his scalp.

He desperately wanted to be mad and stay mad but as Robyn lovingly scratched his head, he could feel his anger slipping away fast. He was so distraught with the disaster of a birthday cake he had been making for her and the fact that he had arrived home late had put him under pressure to make the cake and he was already feeling down after filming that morning and even though Robyn had tried to lift his mood when he burnt her cake, he just knew he had ruined the perfect birthday he had planned for her and stormed out of the kitchen, falling dramatically onto his bed, cuddling draiocht to his face, inhaling the light lingering scent of Robyn’s perfume on the blouse that the green dinosaur wore. He couldn’t even bring himself to his look at Robyn who naturally had followed him to his bedroom. He now felt ashamed of his actions and though it wasn’t her intention and he knew she meant well, feeling Robyn’s hand in his hair made him feel worse but so wonderful at the same time.

“When you are ready, I am here.”

Exhaling miserably, Taron turned his face to the left, his nose touching Robyn’s leg, she sat that close to him. He shuffled closer to her and as Robyn encouraged him up onto her lap, she cradled his head and with two hands started to massage his scalp again. He blinked away tears that had suddenly come to his eyes and moved his hands to rub them roughly, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. A new tiredness filled his whole body and it was worse than feeling weary and drained and when he felt Robyn so carefully run her left hand up and down his waist comforting him, his whole body was filled with guilt. He knew in his heart, she wasn’t mad at him and with her soft hands on his body, he cuddled into her some more but he still felt extremely awful for his behaviour.

“I am sorry.” He spoke into her leg. “Fucking hell Robyn, I am so sorry.”

Robyn eased her fingertips into the shaved part of his hair and let her nails lightly scratch his head. “Nothing to be sorry for.” She assured him.

“On your birthday and everything.”

“My birthday was on Wednesday. Today is Friday. Not my birthday anymore.”

“Robyn…” Taron tilted his head back a little, Robyn’s hand moving with him so her hand was now on his forehead.

“You have nothing to apologise for Taron.” She smoothed his frown away. “And you haven’t ruined anything.”

“I think the words I used were fucking ruined it.”

Robyn applied a deeper pressure to his head. “You haven’t fucking ruined anything. I have only stepped in the door Taron.” Robyn ran a finger lightly down his nose, watching as his eyes closed. She did it again before her hand wandered back to his hair. “Matthew have anything to do with this?” She asked, her fingers running over his short hair, making sure to scratch deep over his ear.

Taron inwardly groaned as Robyn lovingly kneaded his head, once again taking care of him without question and he snuggled a little further into her warm body, craving her touch. “It was longer earlier in the week but for the movie and script, I had to cut it myself on camera.” He felt her hands stall momentarily before they picked up their pace again and if possible, the deep pressure on the side of his head felt even more pleasurable than before.

“You had to cut it on camera?”

Taron nodded into her lap. “It was in the script Robyn. I didn’t just cut my hair for the fun of it.” Robyn heard the change in his voice and went take his right hand which was tucked under his chin, giving it a very light squeeze.

The new touch to his hand was comforting and inside Taron was kicking himself for being short with her. “I mentally can’t go into it at the moment but within the script my father likes to grab and pull my characters hair, giving him something to hold as he rips into me. By my character cutting his hair, he prays it will ease up on the beatings.”

Robyn wrapped her two arms around him and hugged him tight against her, kissing his head. “I like your hair like this.” She whispered against his temple.

Taron slipped his arms around Robyn’s. “Can we just stay here for a little while?” He asked her very quietly.

“For as long as you want.”

Robyn moved her hands back to his head and starting above his right ear, gave every part of his head a deep rub, making sure she got a few nose strokes in too, finally feeling him relax against her after a good five minutes of silence. “Anything else you want to get off your chest?”

“Sorry I burnt your cake?”

Robyn gave his side a playful pinch. “Not what I meant and you know it.”

Taron sighed against her. “I am sorry for getting angry in the kitchen. I just want this weekend to be perfect for us and you are barely in the door and I found a way to just upset everything.”

“You have upset nothing. Like you said, I am only in the door and something is so obviously bothering you and the weekend doesn’t need to be perfect Taron.” She heard him mutter something. “Wanna repeat that for me?”

“It has to be perfect.”

“Taron…” Robyn placed her right hand under his chin, lifting it so he had to look at her. “It does not have to be perfect. I will take confetti in my hair, a burnt cake and a squishy hug over perfect any day. It is more than I have been given before and we could just sit and watch movie’s and I would be happy and I know you know this.”

“I know chicken.” Taron nestled back onto her lap. “Keith never celebrated your birthday?”

“He thought a six pack and a ready meal was perfect and then during our last year together, he was hooking up with that ex friend I told you about and came home with take out for one after a good few beers. You can guess where that went.”

Taron sat up quickly, his face in shock. “Robyn…”

“Not there you tosspot.” She felt him sit beside her, their shoulders and legs touching. “Not even close. He fell asleep on the couch after he had puked all over my rug. Such a lovely thoughtful gift which by the way was the only one I got from him.”

“Fucker.” Taron replied to her.

“Homemade cake and scary surprises trump any birthday Keith ever did for me Taron. So, while to you cake and confetti might not be perfect, to me it is. Just to be here is perfect and I know you have a lot of stuff planned, secret stuff Taron, so please don’t be fretting over a cake which by the way, you made from scratch and if only the pink layer got a little bit crispy, I am imagining there are six other layers and while we are on the subject of layers, anything you want to get off your chest? You seem to be carrying a load on your shoulders.”

“I never thought about the other layers.” Sighing, he moved a little so he could rest his cheek on her shoulder. “I am so sorry for the shitty mood. It’s been a hard week. I am so emotionally drained by the script and I knew it was going to be a tough shoot and Matthew and the cast have been great but still, it is heart breaking acting out the lines and reacting on set and for some reason, I can’t shake the day off when I come home. I was beyond frustrated today when I kept messing up and not because I couldn’t get the lines right but because I was so overwhelmed and overcome with emotions and just needed to collect myself before we could continue. We were due to finish early and we did but it was probably three hours later than planned but we never got the scene completed. Matthew insisted on letting us finish up early as planned, even though I wanted to try again. He practically pushed me out.” Once Taron started to speak, he found it hard to stop and felt a little better after his confession. “Like I said earlier, today was just horrible.”

“And then you put yourself under such pressure for me.”

Taron closed his eyes, reaching for Robyn’s right hand, being careful as he was not sure if it was still injured four weeks after she caught it in the gate at work. “You always do such wonderful things for me Robyn. I just wanted to make sure that this weekend was one full of lovely things for you to enjoy.”

Robyn slipped her right arm around his shoulders and guided him under her chin, Taron moving to lay on his side, a long sorrowful sigh filling his lungs, as he closed his eyes, his ear right over her heart. “We could stay like this for the whole weekend Taron and I would be more than happy. I don’t need big gestures.”

“Which is why I wanted to make your cake for you. It’s something so special for you, something you deserve and have every right to get. It’s your birthday and it should be celebrated.”

Robyn kissed Taron’s head. “Thank you and it is ok not to get your scenes perfect on the first try and I am only a phone call away when you need to get this stuff off your chest.” She kissed him again, her lips lingering on his warm skin. “A fresh head on Monday will make all the difference to how you feel and how you act out the script. Trust Matthew, even more so with this movie. It’s so awfully hard in comparison to Kingsman and when he tells you it’s ok to stop, then stop. It doesn’t take from your ability or skills but rather gives you the moments you need to process the emotions you feel so you don’t exhaust yourself and if you still have six layers, we can still make a rainbow birthday cake.” Robyn ran her the back of her fingers of her right hand very slowly and lovingly down his right cheek. “I never was partial to the colour pink anyway.” She felt the grin on his face under her hand. “Would you like me to help you with the rest of the cake?”

Taron nodded and then spoke. “Can I just have a few more minutes of a Robyn cuddle first? I can use my voucher.”

Robyn chuckled. “Since it’s my birthday and I get to do what I want and I want to cuddle you, this one is on the house.” Wrapping him up in a tight squeeze, Robyn closed her eyes, resting her cheek on his head. “You are doing a wonderful thing with this movie Taron. Please don’t doubt yourself and I am already having the best birthday I could ask for.”


	2. “Presents are made for the pleasure of who gives them, not the merits of who receives them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!  
> Thanks for such love on this story already!  
> :)  
> Suze xx
> 
> *Another disclaimer - I don't know Taron's family either and the dates are just made up for the purpose of the story flow*

Twenty minutes later, while Robyn cleared up the mess on the island, Taron worked on finishing the cake. She insisted that he did it, knowing he was well capable, smiling as he took out the pre-bought chocolate frosting. As she washed the used pottery and cutlery, Taron filled the centre of the cake with some sweets and treats, making quick work of covering the entire cake with icing. As Robyn leaned against the counter, the clean-up completed, Taron decorated the cake with more sweets and fizzy strips. The last thing he added was a ‘Happy Birthday’ candle ready and waiting to be lit.

“That looks so delicious Taron.” Robyn went to swipe her finger through the chocolate icing but Taron caught her hand to stop her, but she was quicker and used her left hand to get some icing to eat. “So good.”

“No cake until after dinner.” He insisted. “And no dinner until after other birthday traditions.”

“So you are starving me.” Robyn dramatically sighed. “So hungry!”

Taron laughed a little picking up the birthday hat and slipped it back on her head. “There are some other things we have to do first before we can eat.” He then placed the birthday banner back over her shoulder. “Photos, birthday hugs and presents.”

“Well seeing as how it is my birthday shouldn’t I get to dictate which is first?”

Taron grinned, shaking his head, so thankful for her in every way possible. He felt so much better in himself and as usual, comforted with her words as they lay on his bed together, wrapped up in an enjoyable tight cuddle. “For a wonderfully patient woman, you actually have such little patience when it comes to people giving you things.”

“It’s ‘cos I don’t get things very often.” Robyn replied, her eyes opening when she realised what she had said. “I mean I do but I don’t really get things like this done for me where someone does these kinds of special things for me that are just for me and for someone to put so much thought into doing nice things and I am so used to being by myself and it’s easy to forget how to let others in and realise that’s ok to do so and you know I am such an old stubborn woman and…”

“… And I am going to give you that very overdue birthday hug now.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but pulled Robyn into his arms, hugging her tight to him, tucking her head under his chin. “You know you don’t have to explain it to me chicken. I get it but this weekend is mine to spoil you. It’s my turn to just give you a taste of what you have given to me over the past few months.” He placed his hands flat around her waist, drawing her right against him. “There are no red-carpets events, no media. Just us. I have two things planned tomorrow. Nice treats for us both to enjoy but nothing in public and nothing that you will find overwhelming. I promise.” He felt her nod into his chest. “Thank you for my pep-talk earlier, for helping me talk, letting me vent. I needed it badly but now, now it’s your weekend and next thing on our schedule is presents.”

Even though she didn’t want to. Robyn smiled. “Well seeing as how last time we saw each other, we broke our present pact, I guess I can let you follow through with your schedule.”

“Fantastic!” Taron agreed.

She reluctantly moved her head from his strong chest and looked up to him. “You have a schedule?”

Taron smiled softly at her before dipping his head to kiss her forehead. “Yes chicken, I do. Go and get settled on the couch and no peaking behind.”

Following his instructions, Robyn moved to sit on his couch, moving the teddy bear fleece out of the way. Sinking into the cushions, she lay her head back against the couch, her eyes closing. She could hear Taron rustling and rummaging somewhere behind her and she tried to hold her worried sigh in. Matthew had asked her at the premier four weeks ago to watch out for Taron and she had promised she would but with only four weeks into filming, her best friend seemed to be already struggling. Robyn was so glad the movie and crew would be moving to Belfast within the next two weeks. Being so close to him meant she could travel to see him so much easier, even going after work and still being able to travel back home if needed. She was willing to make that journey and see him for only an hour if it helped to clear his mind. She would have stayed cuddling him longer but he wanted to try and finish the cake and hearing a slight happier tone in his voice about the cake, she let him up and followed him to the kitchen. As she rested with her head on the back of the couch, the paper cone hat started to slip off, so she pulled it fully off and sitting up, placed it on the coffee table, taking the birthday banner from her shoulder too and letting it fall onto the glass table as well. She was still worried about him but was going to follow his lead and had told herself she was going to let him do whatever he wanted for her this weekend and not protest over any surprise he had. As much as Taron felt he would always be in her debt for saving his life, Robyn appreciated Taron and his kindness and love just as much and she was thankful for everything he was teaching her too.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Robyn, happy birthday to you!”

Taron strolled down the hallway singing in full voice, carrying a bag in each hand and the birthday cake he had put so much effort into, the happy birthday candle at the top of cake lit along with a circle of other candles, their flames all different colours. He was smiling and his grin made Robyn smile back and he very carefully placed the cake on the coffee table. He sang once again this time in Welsh, dropping onto the couch beside her, swinging his left around her shoulder, giving her a hug and a kiss on her cheek once he had finished his song.

“So, you make this yourself?” She teased pointing to the cake, that looked appetising on the gold pate.

“Shut up.” He nudged her,

“It’s perfect. I love it.”

“Would you like to blow out all of the candles before they melt on my creation?” Taron lifted his hips from the couch so he could pull his phone from his pocket. “And I shall be documenting it for evidence of the cake for my mother and sisters, both of who don’t believe I could make this.” Taron placed a quick kiss on her temple again. “Only you have true belief in me.”

Grinning Robyn moved forward on the couch, pulling her ponytail close to her shoulder. She felt Taron move beside her and knew he was recording and taking many photos. It took her three breathes to get all of the candles blown out and she chuckled as Taron cheered once she got the last candle out. “So, cake now?” She asked hopefully. “Or is that defying your schedule.”

Taking to laughing, shook his head. “You object to presents before cake? Robyn!” As he was speaking, Robyn had used her index finger and thumb to dig some cake out and was eating it from her fingers.

“What? It’s yummy!” Her response made his smile grow and he watched as she dug some cake out with her fingers and ate it. “Taron this is really good.” She pulled some more cake off and handed it out to him. “You won’t taste your own baking?” She questioned seeing his hesitation. As he held his hand out, she dropped some red and orange cake into his palm. “It’s delicious.”

With a shaky hand, Taron lifted the cake to his mouth and ate the piece Robyn had given him from his palm, while she picked another colour out to taste. He had been sitting very comfortably on his couch but quickly had to change position with his right leg tucked under himself, pulling his t-shirt away from his heated skin. As Robyn went into for another piece of cake, he discreetly shuffled his hips around, pulling at his jeans, trying to loosen the denim away from the heat Robyn had no idea she was causing him.

“Would you like some more?” Robyn turned to Taron noticing he had moved on the couch and looked a little flushed. “You alright?”

“Hmm-hmm. Just waiting for you to finish eating the cake so I can give you your birthday present.”

“Do I get to see inside the cake?” She asked. “You put a surprise in there?”

“One thing at a time chicken.”

“Let me go and wash my hands. They are all chocolate.”

While Robyn moved to the kitchen sink, Taron quickly stood up from the couch, did a little shuffle, his two hands going to the front of his jeans to rearrange some things before sitting back down where he felt somewhat more comfortable. His heart was thumping violently in his chest and blood was flowing to places it shouldn’t and he had to take some deep breathes to try and calm his worked-up body down, fanning his face with his hands a little while her back was still turned to him.

She wandered back over to him as if she hadn’t just been eating chocolate cake with her fingers, sitting beside him. It hadn’t gone unnoticed with her how he had changed his position he was sitting in once again and the redness on his cheeks. “You sure you are ok?”

“I am just waiting for you.” Taron took the blue glittery bag from to his right and left it on his lap. “I think I am going to have to unwrap these myself.”

“Not a chance.” Robyn moved to sit cross-legged opposite him. “Taron are you sure you are ok? Your face is so red.” She leaned over to him a little and placed her hand on his forehead, before cupping his cheeks, his face smiling under her hands. “Nope. All good.”

Taron placed his hands over hers. “Presents?”

“Well, I suppose it has to be done.” She took her hands from his face.

With a grin Taron handed over the blue glitter bag. “Happy birthday and I don’t apologise for the bag.”

“Fucking glitter.” Robyn moaned as she took the bag by the handles from Taron. “Everywhere.” She muttered looking to him but he just winked at her. She reached into the bag and pulled out a wrapped square box in pretty paper with dolphins on. “How do you find all the dolphin stuff?” She asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I am ‘the Taron Egerton’.”

Robyn playfully slapped his knee and turned her attention to the present, ripping the paper off, giggling at the box in her hands. “You actually did buy me one.”

“I told you I would.”

Holding a box of Armani code in her hands, Robyn chuckled. “And pray tell, what am I supposed to do with a box of men’s aftershave?”

“Spray some on cwtch.” He suggested. “Or leave it in your bathroom for me for when I come to visit.”

“You want to leave a toothbrush and some boxers too?”

“Might do. I am going to be a regular house guest now.”

“You are always welcome and you know where the key is.” Robyn stretched to put the aftershave on the coffee table, secretly dancing inside that she could spray cwtch with her favourite male scent and then reached into the gift bag and took out another box, this time square in shape, wrapped in the same dolphin paper.

Taron was watching on very closely. He had taken a chance with this present and was a bit nervous to how Robyn would feel about it. He wrung his hands together on his lap as Robyn tore the paper off, revealing the light blue box. He kept his eyes on hers as she opened the box and heard the slight gasp she made.

“Taron…” Her voice trailed off and Robyn took the silver bracelet from the box, dropping the box onto the couch. “This is beautiful.”

“If you don’t like, I can get it changed for you.”

“Absolutely not.” She looked up to his, seeing the little of alarm on his face as he watched her to see if she liked the present. “You picked this yourself?” He saw him nod. “No help from your mam or Lyndsey?”

His lips curled into a half smile. “I picked it all by myself.”

Robyn looked to the stunning silver bracelet in her hands. The circular links were small and dainty and a curved love heart was set on the top left of the bracelet. A dolphin in a Celtic swirl was on the opposite side and in-between four flawless coloured diamonds were set in a perfect straight line. “Taron this is so beautiful.” Robyn ran her thumb over the top of the bracelet. “You really chose it yourself?”

“Yes Robyn.” He gestured for her to give him the bracelet and she handed it over to him. “I know you don’t wear jewellery except for your earrings and mood ring but I took a chance. Silver in colour because I guessed you are not a gold kinda gal.”

Robyn had to laugh at his use of the word gal. “Correct and definitely not a gold gal.”

Taron smiled her way. “A love heart for reasons I don’t think I need to explain to you or the Celtic dolphin either.” He looked up glad to see her nod. “Each stone has a meaning behind it.” He touched the first stone nearest the dolphin. “Ruby red for Wales.” He moved to the stone next to the red one. “And dark green for Ireland and the last two…” He ran the tip of his index finger over the remaining two stones. “Your birthstone and then mine. Emerald for you and topaz for me.” Looking to Robyn he lightly bit his lower lip. Even though he said the bracelet didn’t need an explanation, he felt the need to explain his choices and the design. “The dolphin and heart are on the outside because that’s you. Your love for dolphins and how you got my heart beating again. Then the red stone and blue stone which kind of represent me in a way and then with your two stones in the middle.” Taron reached for her right wrist and very carefully clasped the bracelet on for her. “It is designed in the same way that you always look out for me and protect me with your sass and fancy words so my stones are surrounded by yours.” Once he had closed the bracelet securely, he twisted it around to the front of her arm, running his thumbs over her wrist. “It’s something that you can wear that doesn’t have such an obvious meaning and looks just like a normal bracelet.”

Robyn placed her hand over Taron’s stopping his light movements. “I love it and I will happily tell anyone who asks who got it for me and what it all means. Taron…” She moved his hand so she could look at the bracelet once again. “It is so thoughtful and kind and you have put something so special together for me. I mean… just… Thank you.” Stretching over, she hugged him tight. “Thank you so much.” As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she could still see the bracelet and as the stones shone in the lighting from the ceiling, she hugged him tighter. “Thanks rocketman.”

“You are so very welcome chicken.”

Hugging him for longer than was probably necessary, Robyn closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his shoulder. “Thank you.” She whispered to him again.

Taron didn’t answer her but returned her hug with his own, not too worried about letting her go just yet. He was learning to read Robyn through her moves and emotions and the surprise on her face by the present and tight squeeze she was giving him, made him a little sad that no one had given her a gift that carried such a special meaning before but he was so glad with his choice. He hadn’t lied when he told her he had picked the bracelet himself. Naturally he asked his mam for advice on a gift for her and although he wasn’t so sure about a piece of jewellery as a gift, with a bit of thought and research, he was so glad he managed to find something that made Robyn hug him tightly. He gave her body one more cuddle and then took his hands away, Robyn moving back to sit beside him.

“It is so beautiful Taron. Thank you so much for this.” She reached over to take his hands. “And just so you know, the love heart and your stones surround mine stones too.”

He nodded, taking her right hand in his and turning it over. “These bruises are still lingering.”

“So much better than it was. Look I can do this one and not go ow.” She made a show of bending her fingers a few times. “I get straight hair again!”

Taron chuckled at her. “I am glad you can do your hair. Maybe though a little sad I am not needed to unhook your bra though.” The push on his chest made him over balance a little and he pretended to fall over dramatically onto the couch, his arms over his head but he quickly pulled himself back up. “No bra?” He teased, enjoying the ruby red blush that completely filled Robyn’s face. He took her hand again. “I am glad it’s much better.”

“Me too.” She could still feel the flush on her face and it wasn’t just her cheeks that were over heated. “So, cake now?” She asked desperately needing to change the subject.

“Not yet.” He picked up the second gift bag that was on the floor and handed it to her. “This is from Mari and Rosie.” He explained. “They are still a little upset about not getting to see you in London but it didn’t stop them from wanting to get you something.”

Robyn took the pink gift bag from him, surprise on her face. “From Mari and Rosie?”

“Yep.”

“They didn’t have to do this Taron.”

“You have met my sisters, right? You know they adore you and insisted on getting you a present.” He lifted another small wrapped gift from his right side. “And this one is from my mam.” He handed the small gift with a gold bow to her.

“Tina?”

“That would be my mam.”

“Taron…”

He held his hands up. “Hey I told her she shouldn’t but you have also met my mother and I was not going to have an argument with her over it. Also, pre-warning you, there will be a face time call at some point this evening from my family to wish you a happy birthday.”

Robyn was completely taken aback by his family and their gifts. She had never missed out on birthday presents but being an only child and as she got older, her parents gave her money in a card to buy what she would like for herself so getting an actual wrapped present from Taron’s family was unexpected and so surprising. “You family are so kind Taron.”

“They just wanted to mark the occasion of your day.”

“Like Elton?” Robyn said to him, gesturing towards her flowers which still sat on the coffee table.

“I may have let it slip you were coming to visit this weekend.” He shrugged.

“You will have to send him a thank you text for me.”

“How about a thank you picture?” He asked. “We can do it now while you wear your hat!” He grinned. Picking up the hat, he leaned forward to place it back on her head. “This is obligatory on your birthday.”

“My birthday was Wednesday.” Robyn said he handed her the flowers.

“For the purpose of the birthday weekend, your birthday is being celebrated all weekend so everyday is your birthday. Now smile.”

“Uh-uh.” Robyn placed her hand in front of the camera. “If this is going to Elton, you are getting in this photo too.”

Sitting back on the couch, Taron changed the camera to selfie mode and as Robyn held up the flowers and smiled, he took the photo of the two of them.

“I will send it to him now. Anything you would like to say to him?”

“Just thank you and hopefully someday we can have another duet.”

“Me and you?” Asked Taron stopping mid text.

“No, me and Elton.”

“Oh right.”

Robyn reached over to place a hand on his forearm. “We can have a sing song any time you want Taron. You know it’s another of my favourite things to do with you.”

With a nod, Taron finished his text and send it onto Elton, dropping his phone onto the coffee table, while Robyn placed the flowers down, took off the hat and picked up the pink gift bag from his sisters.

“There really was no need for them to do this.” Placing the pink bag on her lap, she looked in and smiled at the two wrapped gifts and card that sat inside.

“I have no idea what they bought so cannot take any blame for those.”

She reached in and pulled out a long circular present, wrapped in Frozen wrapping paper and tied with blue ribbon. She opened it and chuckled as she held a piece of cellophane wrapped striped candy rock in her hands, ‘With Love from Aberystwyth’ wrote on it. She could see Taron’s face beside her, a look of confusion on his feature. “I love it.”

“Those two.” He shook his head.

“Leave them be. It’s cute.” She took out the second present once again wrapped in the Disney paper. She ripped the wrapping off and a wide smile filled her face and she threw the paper to the side. In her hands she held a dolphin statue, a beautiful mixture of light and dark blue glasses shaping the two dolphins jumping out of the waves at the base. “Just like their brother, they are good at picking presents. This is gorgeous.” Robyn ran her fingers down the smooth glass. “It will sit perfectly on my piano.”

Taron held his hands out to take the statue and as he looked at it, Robyn took the card from the bag and opened it. Another hand drawn picture met her eyes and on the front this time was Robyn in a dress with a crown on her head. Inside the girls had both wrote her a sweet little message, again asking her when she was going to visit them and if she would really go to Disneyland with them.

“I really need to organise a trip to Aber to see Mari and Rosie.” Robyn placed the card on the coffee table beside the dolphin statue where Taron had put it carefully. “They are so thoughtful.”

“I have been thinking about that.” Taron moved so he sat sideways on the couch and opposite her. “Well actually Mari has been thinking about that.” He handed her a pink envelope. “Mari’s birthday is in June, June 21st to be exact and she is having a costume party and I am under strict instructions to give this to you.”

With a half-smile, Robyn took the envelope from him and opened it, laughing at the party invite in her hands. “Dear Robyn, you are invited to my birthday party on June 22nd at my house in Aberystwyth. It is a costume party and you have to come dressed up.” Robyn turned the piece of decorated paper over when she saw the little girls writing continue on the back. “Please come to my party Robyn. I really would like you to be there for my birthday like you came to Taron’s birthday and you don’t have to bake me a cake. Mam is going to get me a frozen one but I really really want you to come to my party and I know you will have a great time. Taron is going to be coming too and I want to introduce you to my friends. They know how you saved my brother and I want them to meet you. Please come. Love Mari. XXX.”

Robyn looked up to Taron who was smiling at her. “I did explain to Mari that you may not be able to come and it would depend on your work. It is my next weekend off and I will be going back to Aber for her birthday and if you are able to come, you are more than welcome too. I know my family, well my sisters would love it.”

“Can I get back to you?” She said to him looking to the invite again. “I know there is some training coming up for work in June but I don’t know the dates yet but if it doesn’t clash, I would love to come, if your family don’t mind. I seem to be popping up to all your family things lately.”

“Robyn have you realised my family like it when you pop up and Mari was very serious about this invite and giving it to you. There is a RSVP letter in there too. When you find out if you can come or not, maybe you could reply to Mari yourself? I know she would love that even if you can’t go.”

“What are you dressing up as?”

“I have no idea but I was thinking about asking Richard did he have any costumes from Cinderella hanging around that I could borrow. I will have to find something. Mari said I was only allowed to come if I dressed up.”

Robyn chuckled. “Well if I am able to come. I will definitely come dressed up.”

“And it’s a nice excuse for you to come back to Aber.”

“I don’t need an excuse to go to Aber. I want to go back and still would go even if it wasn’t Mari’s birthday.” She placed the personalised invite next to her present from his sisters. “I love their gifts.” She picked up the small present from Taron’s mam. “You family is so good Taron.”

“I have no idea what is in that either. Mam posted these to me and asked me to give them to you so I am doing my sonly duties.”

Robyn found it a little tricky to get the sellotape off the gift from Tina but after a bit of tugging, managed to tear a small hole in the wrapping paper which she could get her finger into to pull the paper off. Once she removed all the gift wrap Robyn was left with a gorgeous pearl and diamond embellished hair comb on her hands. “Oh wow.” It was quite a large size and the comb itself had long spokes and Robyn moved it back and forth, the little diamonds sparkling in the lights above her head. “This is so lovely.” She looked up at Taron who once again looked confused. She realised he had no idea what she was holding. “It’s for my hair.” She explained but his face was still perplexed. “Let me show you.” She pulled her hair from her ponytail and shook it out with her hands. With the comb in her right hand, she dragged it the wrong side out through her hair and turned it over, pushing it back a little before the comb settled nicely in her hair, the pearls and diamonds now facing out, keeping it from her face. “A hair comb.”

With a little more understanding to what the present from his mam was for, Taron nodded. “I can see it now. No idea before that.”

“Not as popular now as they were back in the day but this one is gorgeous and because the combs are longer, it will stay put.” Robyn carefully took the comb out and leaving it on her knees, tied her hair back up. “I can wear it tomorrow.” She put the comb with her other presents on the coffee table. “Your mam is so very thoughtful too. I think we might be making that phone call first so I can thank her.”

“They are going to call later on this evening.” Taron said to her.” Mam is working until late this evening so it was just easier for her to call me.”

“Thank you Taron. You wanted perfect? Well this is more than perfect. I definitely feel a little spoilt.”

A small shy smile filled his face, his dimples coming through. “Will you wait here? I have something else for you.” He started to get up but he felt Robyn’s hand on his knee.

“Something else? Taron, I don’t need anything else.”

“Just wait here.” He stood up and walked around the couch and made his way to his spare bedroom. Robyn had yet to venture into his spare room and he was glad as he had another gift wrapped on the bed for her. Picking up the large box, he carried it back out to the couch and he placed it in front of her. “Please don’t chastise me for the gifts.” He said before she could say something. “For everything you have ever given me, they seem so trivial but it is your birthday and you will love it.”

Getting to her knees, Robyn placed her hands on top of the box. “The bracelet was enough.” She said looking at the jewellery on her arm. “But this is massive!” She grinned excitedly.

Taron chuckled so glad to see her smile, kneeling as she was but on the opposite side of the box. “Would you like to open it?”

“Please.”

“Go for it.”

Taron laughed as Robyn literally ripped pieces of dolphin wrapping paper from the gift, throwing it everywhere as she showed her enthusiasm for the present. Once she got all the paper off, she was left with a brown box.

“Please tell me it isn’t a repeat of Elton’s where the present is actually in a tiny box inside?”

“Even I wouldn’t have the patience to do that or the time lately. Why don’t you open it and see what it is?”

It took a bit of picking but Robyn managed to get enough sellotape opened so she could pull the tape from the top of the box, opening the panels at the top. Inside were two wrapped gifts. “You had to use the box?”

Taron nodded. “I didn’t want the shape to give away the present.”

Robyn reached in and took out the narrow rectangle gift, while Taron took out the bigger present from the box. Once empty, he lifted the box and threw it over the couch and when he looked to Robyn, she had already opened the present in her hands and he smiled at the look on her face. He liked being able to surprise her where she found herself lost for words and she knelt opposite him with her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide.

“How do you do it?” Robyn asked him as she held the soft Care Bear pyjamas in her hands, decorated in the perfect eighties style bears. “How do you find these things?” She opened the pink ribbon on the matching pyjama set and held up the top, buttons up the middle with a collar and long sleeves.

Taron shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t tell you that.”

Robyn smiled at him. “Probably a good thing because I would go there and buy everything.”

“I know you love those bears and pyjamas so seemed a good choice, though maybe more suited for the winter months. I think they will be quite warm.” He looked to her raised eyebrow. “You are going to wear them tonight, aren’t you?” He chuckled.

“If I can go and sleep in the spare room then sure.”

“Not a chance.” He said, a little horror in his eyes at the thoughts of not spending the night with her.

“Don’t worry rocketman. I will keep them for winter. Thank you.” She moved them to the coffee table, the glass tabletop covered in her birthday gifts, her hand lingering on the very soft cotton of the bottoms, her favourite Care Bears printed on them. “They look very comfortable.”

Once she had her hands free, Taron handed over the gift he was still holding. “This is the last wrapped gift. You already know something is planned for tomorrow and it can’t be wrapped so I don’t think it really counts. Happy birthday.”

She took the present from him, feeling it soft and squishy under her hands. Confused by what it could be as some of it felt sturdy too, Robyn grabbed and pulled the wrapping paper from the top revealing a mop of what looked like light purple hair. She glanced to Taron whose face bore a slight look of nervousness and then went back to ripping the paper from the present and her gasp echoed through the living room. Words failing her, Robyn lifted the plush with her right hand, pulling the remaining paper off with her left letting it fall to the ground. Holding the pastel rainbow horse in her hands, she looked over the Care Bears head to Taron who was still waiting for her full reaction. In her hands she held Noble Heart Horse who matched the True Heart Bear he had gotten her for Christmas. Her thumbs ran over the dark rainbow stitching on the horse’s stomach and then down the nose, the fur soft under her fingers. “Taron…” She whispered. “How did you find this?”

He smiled a little. “I have my ways.”

“Do you know how hard this is to find? To get one of these? And how did you know I would like this? Would love this?”

“I did a little research about Care Bears. Found out a few things and had a little browse and got you this.” He moved a little closer to her so he could touch the horse’s arms. “I know you are collecting them in a roundabout way and I just wanted to add to your collection.”

Robyn shook her head a little. “I love this.”

Taron chuckled. “Sweetheart, you loved everything I got you.”

Robyn swotted him with the horse before cuddling the plush. “Thank you.”

“You are more than welcome and can we not give the horse all the cuddles this weekend? I need some too.”

Robyn moved so she was sitting on the couch right against his side and swung her left around his waist, cuddling the horse and him at the same time. “I can do both.”

With a shake of his head, Taron moved his body so his back was against the couch, giving Robyn a better angle to hug him and she easily settled in against his side, her head on his shoulder, the horse snug against him as Robyn cuddled him.

“Thank you so much Taron. The cake was enough and the bracelet will never be taken off and the horse, just tops it all. I don’t need anything else. Let’s just cancel whatever you have planned tomorrow and just watch movie’s all day.”

His chest moved as he laughed at her words. “You won’t want to miss what I have planned tomorrow.” He gentled rubbed her side. “But we can watch movies for the rest of the evening.”

Robyn lifted herself from him. “Hold the horse for a second.” She gave him the horse and hopped up from the couch, walking towards his bedroom.

“Robyn?”

“I have something for you!” She shouted to him from his room.

“Breaking the present pact!” He shouted back at her.

She just grinned his way as she walked back to him, plopping her body right again his, the Care Bear still in his hands. She took her present from him and handed him the two things she had for him. “We gave up on that pact the last time we saw each other and I don’t think these really count as presents to be honest.”

His face broke out in a stunning grin as his eyes looked at the cover of DVD she had given him. Staring back at him was Robyn with her curly hair and the rest of the cast of Kilcreen’s musical society from RENT.

“I thought you might like to have a copy of this seeing as how you came to see it twice. We finally got our hands on the DVD this week and I ordered one for you too.”

Still grinning Taron looked to her, her arms tight around the plush he gave her. His face turned to a slight frown. “I am starting to regret giving you that horse now.”

Robyn smiled his way. “But he is so cuddly.”

“I thought I was cuddly.” Taron said with a pout.

Robyn tossed the plush over her head and onto the couch behind her and moved right into his side, burying her face into his chest, resting her hand left hand over his heart, feeling and hearing Taron’s chuckle.

“You spend your evenings cuddling cwtch, don’t you?” He asked slipping his left arm out from under her and rubbing her left arm up and down.

“And you most definitely snuggle with draiocht when you can.”

Knowing he had been caught out, he picked up the DVD in his right hand. “So, I can keep this?”

Robyn nodded, the fingers of her left hand, tracing over his heart over his t-shirt. “Yep, all yours. You can play it and sing along.”

“I might have to put a page on the TV so I don’t see Cathal’s face. I might punch the TV.”

Robyn moved her left hand to tickle his left side. “You won’t come to see another show if he is in it, will you?”

“If you two are cast as the leads again, I may have to go and audition myself to get the lead role.”

“You are more than welcome too.” Robyn agreed. “That would be good fun and we know we can sing together.” She happily sighed, closing her eyes nestling a little deeper into him. “And you are my preferred cuddle option.”

Taron was glad Robyn couldn’t see his face but was slightly worried her ear would pick up on his increased heartbeat or feel the rising heat of his skin. Needing a distraction from her closeness, he picked up the second thing she had given him along with the DVD.

“Really?” He asked. “A box of Berocca? You know we can buy that here right?”

“I don’t want you getting sick again. It’s good to keep your immune system strong. Tiredness might not be your enemy on this shoot but you are going to feel drained in a different way. It will give you a little boost of energy you will need as well as those phone calls you will make to your favourite Irish person.”

“I do love a chat with Jamie.”

He giggled as Robyn tickled him, slipping her fingers under his t-shirt to get to his bare skin. “Ok ok! Stop!” He laughed. “You know you are my favourite Irish person and thank you. Always looking out for me.”

“Always.” Robyn repeated, moving her hand back to his heart again. “Thank you for my presents Taron.”

“You are welcome.”

Taron slipped his two arms around her, hugging her close to him and left his arms there as she lay against him. Warm and soft, he loved being able to return the love she always had for him and his mood was quickly turning around and he closed his eyes, letting his cheek rest on her head. His snug embrace with her lasted for about three minutes when the doorbell rang and he groaned loudly at the interruption.

“Seriously?” He moaned. He was so cosy and knew why his doorbell had rang but it was such terrible timing.

Robyn had been soaking up Taron’s heat and very much agreed with his reaction to the doorbell. She definitely didn’t want him to move and could feel herself slipping into a nice nap against him. Never mind a birthday hug, a birthday cuddle was so much better and she loved getting to lay against him, to feel his body shape against hers, to have an excuse to touch him. As the bell rang again, Robyn lifted her head from his chest and looked to him. “Want me to get it for you?”

Taron shook his head. “I got it.” As Robyn lifted herself from him, the cold air hit her quickly and she watched as Taron got to his feet and stretched as he walked past her, Robyn getting a glimpse of the belt of his jeans and some bare skin of his lower stomach, a dusting of body hair too and she had to shake her head of her thoughts and cross her legs. She heard Taron thank the person at the door and he walked back into the room carrying a large pizza box and a brown paper bag.

“Dinner is served my lady!” He laughed.

Robyn grinned his way and stood up walking over to him. “When did you do this?” She asked him watching as he opened the pizza box, a steaming hot large cheesy pizza with various toppings inside which looked delicious.

“Pre-ordered when I came in from work.” He said as he took some boxes from the brown paper bag. “Picked a time I knew would suit us for some food.” Taron moved to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine, some beers and some bottles of cider and put them on the island. “Not too sure what you would like. I have some coke too.”

Robyn reached forward and picked up a bottle of cider. “Perfect.”

Taron walked around to his cutlery drawer and took out a bottle opener and once back beside her, opened her bottle and bottle of beer for himself. He took a long drink from his, watching as Robyn took her own drink too.

“So, pizza and beer?” Robyn asked leaning against the marble island.

Taron was about to take another drink but stalled with the opening of the glass bottle against his lips. He brought the bottle down and found himself biting his lower lip. “Well, I… Erm I thought… I just figured…” He stopped talking as Robyn pulled a slice of pizza from the box, folded it in half and took a large bite from it. His lips pulled into a smile. “You…” He said pointing a finger her way but as slice of pizza was handed to him, he opened his hand to take it.

“My favourite.” She grinned to him, taking another bite of her pizza slice. “The best birthday food.”

Taron helped her to bring her presents to his spare room and once the coffee table was clear, set up the pizza still in its box and the other nibbles he had bought. Bringing another two bottles of beer with him, Taron settled himself on his couch, Robyn beside him.

“They not feeding you on set this time?” She asked him as he picked up his fifth slice of pizza.

“Hadn’t had much of an appetite today.” He answered her before taking a small bite from the slice in his hands. Feeling her hand on his knee, he looked to her from under his eyes and saw a little concern on her face. “The pizza is tasty.”

“Absolutely delicious.” She agreed, sitting back against the cushion with her drink, trying to keep her face as happy as possible. It instantly worried her that his appetite was being affected by his work but was sure he already knew what she was thinking so reached forward to pick up another slice of pizza for herself.

Once both had eaten more than needed, Taron sat back on the couch, rubbing his stomach a little. “Too much food.” He groaned, making Robyn smile at his whimper.

“Where I have heard those words before?” She teased poking him in his stomach, Taron batting her hands away and covering his belly.

“Ugh no Robyn. Don’t. Stuffed.”

“So, no room for birthday cake then?” She asked him, grinning as his head turned to her quickly. “Always save room for dessert.”

Hopping up from the couch, Robyn skipped into the kitchen and took her birthday cake from the fridge. Picking a knife from the drawer and a plate from the press, she cut a large piece of cake, smiling as all the sweets inside tumbled out. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she snapped a picture of her special cake and then a sneaky one of Taron half laying on the couch in a full and proper food coma.

Grabbing two forks, she made her way back to the couch, also grabbing two more bottles of alcohol on her way past the fridge, sitting back beside him. She left the bottle of beer and cider on the coffee table and dropped a fork on his lap. Sitting right beside him, she started to eat the cake, knowing Taron was watching her every move.

“I have enough to share.” She said to him. “It’s such a good cake Taron. You did a wonderful job with it.” She ate another bit. “Who needs a stoopid pink layer anyway.”

Taron chuckled and picked up the fork Robyn had left for him. “Well go on, let me have some.” She moved the plate closer to him and he dug the fork in and slipped the fork into his mouth, his eyes closing as he chewed, a little smile on his lips. “Maybe I do need to go for celebrity bake off.”

“Told you it was good. Thank you for my cake.”

“Welcome.” Taron put the fork back down on his lap.

“No more?” Robyn asked him.

“I am going to burst.” He laughed a little.

“I got you another beer.”

“Give me some time to digest first.”

“Sure.”

Robyn had a bit more of the cake, but feeling full herself, left more than half of the cake on the plate and put it on the coffee table, picking her the bottle she got for herself. She kicked off her shoes and tucking her legs under herself got cosy on the couch beside Taron who was still half laying on the couch with his eyes closed.

“Taron?”

“Hmm?”

“You ok?”

“All good.”

“Tired?”

“A bit yeah.”

Robyn put her bottle back on the coffee table and moved closer to him, sneaking her right arm in between his neck and couch and with her hand on his shoulder, gave his shoulder a little push and very slowly, Taron leaned into her, his eyes still closed, his little grunt his pathetic attempt of a protest of her moving him closer to her.

“Your Friday birthday schedule finished?” She asked him rubbing the lightest of touches down his nose with the index finger of her left hand. He nodded against her. “Then seeing as how it is my birthday, I can do what I want. This…” She gave his body a light squeeze. “Is what I want.”

“We are waiting for a face time call.”

“Give me your phone.” She instructed him, taking it as he handed it over. “I can answer the call.”

“You just want to take photos of me dozing.”

“I have my own phone for that. Don’t need yours. Have a snooze.”

It was definitely a snooze and Taron did try to keep his eyes open but it was so hard when Robyn’s right hand made its way to his short hair and lovingly massaged his head. He really wanted to protest, to switch places with her but he was full and comfortable, warm and happy and knowing Robyn, she wouldn’t have let him switch anyway so let his right arm drape over her and drifted in and out of sleep in her arms.

After about forty minutes of dozing, Robyn finally felt his breathing change, deep easy breathes moving his chest up and down and his head slipped a little down her shoulder. She smiled as the quietest and cutest little snores came from his lips and she giggled silently, her left hand cupping his face, her thumb stroking his cheek. It was the first time she had ever heard him snore and guessed it was a combination of his very deep sleep, full tummy and three beers that were causing his little noises. She looked to her left as his phone rang and seeing ‘Mam’ on the screen, Robyn smiled. Tina has the worse timing in the world and just like in Paris called as Taron was sleeping against her.

She took her hand away from his face and picked up the phone, answering the face time.

“Happy birthday!”

Robyn winced as the Egerton family on the screen shouted happy birthday to her once her face came on the screen. She smiled back at the time. “Thank you!” She replied, keeping her voice low, taking a glance to Taron who still slept against her.

“Happy birthday Robyn!” Rosie said pushing her sister a little so she could get her face in the screen.

“Happy birthday Robyn!” Mari shouted louder, giving her sister a harder push.

Robyn tried not to laugh as she watched Tina correct her younger children, making them sit back down on the couch so all three could be easily seen on the screen. Once she had them settled, she spoke. “A very happy birthday to you Robyn.”

“Thank you Tina. Thanks Rosie and Mari too and thank you all for your lovely presents. There really was no need for you to buy me anything at all.” She saw the frown form on Tina’s face that was so like Taron’s.

“Robyn, it is your birthday and tradition calls for presents.”

“Well thank you again. Tina the comb is beautiful. I can’t wait to wear it.”

“You are very welcome. I thought you might like it.”

“I do. I am going to wear it tomorrow to whatever Taron has planned.”

“Did you like the statue?” Rosie spoke up. “And the rock? We picked them ourselves.”

Robyn smiled as the two girls. “I absolutely loved them both. Dolphins are my favourite animal. I am going to put it on my piano.”

“Did you get my birthday invite?” Mari asked, moving forward so her face filled more of the screen. “Will you come to my party?”

Robyn stalled a little. “Chicken, I did get it and thank you so much for the lovely invite.”

“Robyn you can’t call me a chicken! I am not a chicken and that is what Taron calls you!”

The two young girls laughed on the screen and Tina looked to Robyn with an apologetic face.

“Well that is very true Mari.”

“So can you come to my birthday? You went to Taron’s birthday and to London to have your birthday with Taron.”

“Oh hunni, I want to come to your birthday but I don’t want to make a promise and break it on you. I need to check with my work first to make sure I can go and if I can, I will be there to celebrate your birthday with you.” She saw the little girls face fall. “Mari, I can’t promise that I will be there but I promise to do everything I can to try to be there. I will send you back your invite as soon as I know if I can go or not.”

Robyn’s heart dropped as Mari sat back on the couch with a terribly sad look on her face, again so much like Taron’s. She was about to speak again but Tina got there first.

“Mari if Robyn can go, she will go and Robyn can only try her best as she said.” Tina gave her daughter a little supportive hug and then turned back to the camera. “My son seems to be missing. What is he up too?”

Robyn was very thankful for the change in subject but wished Tina had picked a different one and Robyn moved the phone so Taron was now on screen, his eyes still closed, his body still fast asleep.

“Oh dear.” Tina brought her hand to her mouth as she saw Taron sleeping against Robyn. “He’s ok?”

“Mam, Taron is with Robyn. He is in the best hands.” Rosie said to her mother, her words sounding too mature for her age, ones Tina had said herself so many times to Robyn.

Tina glanced briefly to Rosie before looking back to Robyn, her eyes filled with a little worry. Seeing him asleep meant one of two things – that he was thoroughly exhausted or sick.

“He is just fine Tina. Ate too much pizza. Feeling a little drained after work. Went for a snooze, turned into a proper sleep.” Robyn moved the phone back so it was just her face on screen. “He has been in good form and very excited about presents and secret plans.” Robyn nodded to Tina. “Just needs a good cuddle and pick me up. Been a long day for him.”

Tina got the hidden message behind Robyn’s words and was thankful that her daughters were still too excited to be talking to Robyn to be listening too intently, even more thankful she was there with her son to watch over him once again. “Much different from Kingsman.”

“Much.” Robyn agreed. “Needed to get somethings from his chest.” Robyn didn’t want to say too much in front of his sisters. “Definitely a lot harder in the emotional sense and he is finding the script a challenge, got a new hair cut too.”

Tina sighed quietly, trying to ignore the chatter from her daughters beside her. She had been speaking to Taron before he started filming Matthew’s new movie and knew the extent of the story and script and was very concerned about how her emotional son was going to deal with the demands of a very challenging set and it appeared not very well.

“Just had a hard day on set Tina but he’s going back on Monday with a clear head and a fresh start and moving to Belfast in the next two weeks.” Robyn was glad to see his mam smile. “Too much food and a few beers just sent him off to sleep.”

Tina found her lips in a grin. “Well that sounds like Taron alright.”

“Thank you again for the lovely presents, Tina. You really didn’t have too.”

“Now Robyn, you know what my response to you is going to be so do I even need to say it” Robyn shook her head. “Good. Well look, we will leave you to it. Maybe ask Taron to give me a call over the weekend.”

“I will do.”

“Thank you Robyn. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.” She said with a wink.

“You know what he has planned don’t you?” Robyn quizzed.

“Maybe.” Tina turned to her girls. “Say goodbye to Robyn.”

“Bye Robyn!”

“Bye!” The two girls gave her a wave.

“Bye girls. Thank you again for the presents.”

With another and final goodbye, Robyn ended the call and put Taron’s phone down on the couch, the Welshman still asleep on her shoulder. Lifting her left hand, she cupped his warm cheek again and moving her face closer to his, placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Sleep well rocketman.” She whispered to his warm skin.


	3. “…I'm so thankful for friendship. It beautifies life so much.”

When Taron woke, a long groan left his lips and he fully stretched, his body creaking as his arms reached over his head. He felt warm and cosy as he lay on his back and as he slowly opened his eyes, it was completely dark around him. Turning his head, his cheek met the softness of the grey teddy bear fleece Robyn had given him and the last place he remembered leaving his throw was on his couch.

He rolled over onto his side but instead of rolling onto more of his couch, he ended up on the ground with a huff and moan, completely tangled in the throw. As he kicked his legs, he struggled a little to get himself free and used his hands to help pull the throw from himself. Finally free, his rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms up, cursing as his left hand smacked the coffee table.

“Fucking hell.” He cried rubbing his hand feeling it throb.

His eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the dark and he blinked a few times and with his right hand reached out very carefully and slowly feeling for the couch. Once he was sure he had a good idea of where the couch was and would avoid the coffee table, he pulled himself up from the floor and eased himself onto the couch, still a bit wary that he was on the edge but feeling the soft back of the couch against his shoulders, he leaned all the way in and sighed. Another long yawn filled his whole body and rubbing his eyes once more, he could finally start to make out his living room in the dark. Sitting for a few more seconds, letting his eyes fully adjust to the dark, he then got to his feet and cautiously made his way towards his door and the light switch, his eyes blinking at the invasion of sudden bright light.

It took him a few seconds to get used to the brightness and when he was able to fully open his eyes, he looked around his living room, a little surprised. It was spotlessly clean. The take-out boxes had been cleared away as well as the glass bottles and the top of the coffee table had been wiped down and cleaned.

“Robyn…” Taron’s voice was quiet and he wandered sleepily into his kitchen, now not surprised to see it was clean and tidy too. Any plates or cutlery they had used were washed and drip drying on the sink sideboard. He opened the fridge and the birthday cake which had caused him such stress earlier was wrapped in some tinfoil and the left overtake out was also wrapped but in cling film on plates stored on an empty shelf in his fridge. Closing the white door, Taron moved to lean on the island, his hand running down his tired face. He checked his watch and had to double check when he saw it was near three in the morning.

“I’ve been asleep that long?” He pondered out loud to himself, one more yawn moving through his whole body.

He moved back to the couch and routed around for his phone and found it eventually on the coffee table. He tapped into his received calls from face time and saw one was taken from his mam earlier on in the evening around eight. A little sad he had missed his mam; he knew Robyn had answered the call and started to wonder what the two women could have spoken about together. Standing up and picking up his throw, he draped it around his shoulders, feeling a little cold now as he wandered around his flat in the night time. Pocketing his phone, he wandered back to his door so he could turn off the main light and pulling his phone out again, he flicked on the torch and used it to make his way safely to his bedroom.

The door was open but the light was off and keeping his light away from directly shining on the bed, Taron flashed the torch on his phone up and over the wooden head board, the beam of light shining down and there asleep on the bed, curled up on her right side, in her favourite sleeping position was Robyn, wearing the new pyjamas he had gotten her for her birthday. The pyjama top had ridden up her body and although he had seen a lot of her bare back the last time they had seen each other, the lower part of her back was new to him and he smiled as even in the low light of his bed room from his phone, he could see the faintest mark of a tan line on her skin as her pyjama bottoms sat very low as she lay curled in a ball. He pulled the throw tighter around his body as a deep shiver filled him. He wished she liked massages because his hands were itching to find an excuse to feel how soft her skin was and deep down knew he was out of luck of ever getting to run his fingers over such a beautiful intimate spot on her body.

“Jesus Taron.” He quietly cursed, feeling the wonderful heat rising in his body. “Just a pair of bloody pyjamas.” He scolded himself. “She is your best friend.” He sighed a little. “Your beautiful best friend who you are head over heels in love with.” Taking a step closer to his bed, he very carefully placed a shaky left hand on her side, somewhere his hand had been before and as light as he could, moved his hand down to new territory and let his thumb stroke over her bare hip. As he thought, her skin was wonderfully silky under his thumb and so pleasingly warm. He let his index finger trail over the faint tan line lingering on her skin and then over the waist band of the pyjama’s he had bought her and he half smiled. “Knew you would wear them.” He whispered with a light chuckle. Sneaking his hand up her side and under the cotton top, his thumb traced over her ribs very lightly. She moved a little in her sleep, a long deep sigh leaving her lips and Taron’s hand stalled on her body. He half grinned to himself and took his hand from her skin, his hand running down his face as he composed himself. “Perfect.” He whispered hoarsely.

It looked like she had started out covered with his duvet but kicked it off during her sleep and it was crumbled near the end of the bed, nothing covering her body at all but after feeling how heated her skin was, he wasn’t surprised. The weather in London had become warmer as the country entered its Summer months and his home didn’t have the nice air con that Robyn’s had and he had been sleeping in his boxers under his duvet but being stubborn, Robyn hadn’t listened to him when he told her the pyjamas would be too warm to sleep in that night and now she lay asleep in a warm cotton pyjama’s instead of her normal sleeping attire of shorts and a t-shirt.

“Knew they would be too warm Robyn.” He chuckled

Robyn was snuggled on her side of the bed and deciding he needed to stop trying to touch her and stare at her before he went too far or have to leave the bedroom and go back to the couch, Taron walked around to his side and grinned as he saw the Care Bear horse he had bought her in her arms, Robyn cuddling it against her chest. It was such a sweet picture and while he still had his phone in his hands, Taron opened his camera and took a photo. She had done it to him before when he was sleeping and he was very happy to have his own picture of her sleeping to keep.

Her face was nuzzled deep into the bottom of one of the pillows, her head nearly flat on the bed. He was so glad that she had made herself comfortable in his room, especially when he had fallen asleep on the couch. He kicked his shoes off and dropped the throw to the floor so he could pull his socks off too. He knew he wouldn’t need the throw as he slept in his bedroom, especially with another person on his bed and thinking twice before he actually lay down, he pulled his t-shirt off too. Being careful not to jostle the bed too much, Taron eased himself onto the mattress, not worrying about pulling the duvet up. He was already feeling a little over heated and the cool sheets felt pleasant on his body. He turned off the light on his phone and quietly placed it on his bed side locker and then turning onto his left side facing Robyn, he closed his eyes as his head settled onto his pillow. With his left hand tucked between his knees, his right on the pillow in front of his face, he curled his knees a little closer to his chest and knew it wouldn’t be long before he fell asleep. Opening his right eye, he took one more glance as Robyn’s sleeping form and burrowing his head a little deeper into his pillows, closed his eyes, letting his body rest, sleeping deeply after a hard week of work.

When he woke, he knew immediately that he wasn’t alone in his bed and was still on his side, in the same position he fell asleep in. Waking up in the same way that he fell asleep in meant that he had a good night’s sleep, that was free from tossing and turning or his mind over working and thinking his day of work through. He stayed as he was, his eyes closed, letting his body wake up naturally, enjoying the fact that it wasn’t an alarm rousing him from his sleep. He buried his face into his pillow, stretching his legs and his back out before pulling himself into a tucked position.

“Morning.”

He smiled as he heard Robyn’s voice and opened his eyes to see her sitting up, still in her pyjamas, her hair in her perfected messy bun. “Mornin’.” He mumbled back to her, closing his eyes again.

“Made your way to your bed eventually last night?” She chuckled.

“Guess I was tired.”

“Guess so.” An hour after Robyn had ended the call with Taron’s family, he still slept deeply on her shoulder. With a bit of moving, being so very careful not to wake him, Robyn got him laying on her lap and after another hour, he was still asleep. She shifted her body from under his and placed the throw over his body and a little under his head to make sure he was comfortable and then did a quick clean up of his apartment and headed to his bed for her own sleep. “You were out for the count on the couch.”

“I didn’t think I was that tired.” He said opening his eyes. “And you put your pyjamas on.” He said reaching over to pull at the soft cotton material.

Robyn smiled back at him. “I couldn’t wait to wear them.”

“Were you too warm?” Taron asked, knowing well what her answer was going to be.

“Of course.” She laughed. “You were right but I had to wear them. They are really comfortable. Sorry I left you on the couch sleeping but I didn’t want to wake you.”

Taron shook his head. “Don’t be sorry at all. I am glad you did and that you just went to bed yourself.” He stretched again. “Thank you for cleaning up my flat.”

“No worries.” Robyn watched as Taron snuggled his face back into his pillow. “You weren’t cold last night?” She watched as his bare back muscles moved as he shifted on the bed.

“Nope. Nice and warm.”

“You could have pulled the duvet back up.”

“I didn’t need it. I don’t have your air con and my room gets hot in the Summer months. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.” He opened one eye to look at her. “So, what did you and my mother talk about last night?”

Robyn grinned. “You missed a good chat.” She laughed a little as he lifted his head from the pillow. “You missed nothing at all. A simple happy birthday was exchanged, Mari guilt tripping me to go to her birthday. The old ‘you came to Taron’s birthday and are in London with Taron for your birthday’ came out.” She saw him frown. “Tina was on it, don’t worry and I told Mari I would do my best.”

“And how much of the conversation was about me?” He asked, laying his head back down.

“Not much at all. Really Taron.” She assured him. “Tina asked where you were so I had to move your cute little sleeping face onto the screen.”

Taron groaned into the pillow. “Oh Robyn, you didn’t!”

“I had to. She asked where you were.”

“Oh, she is going to lecture me now.”

Robyn moved closer on the bed to him and reached for his right hand which was in front of his face, her thumbs running over the back of it. “She was a little concerned that you were asleep but I have a feeling she knows your script is testing and I explained that you had just eaten and had some beers. She wants you to call her over the weekend. I also tried to get the secret plans from her but she was giving me nothing.”

Although he didn’t want to, he smiled. “I will call her.” Closing his eyes again, he tucked himself up into a smaller ball on the bed. “What time is it?”

“Just after eleven.”

“Eleven!” Taron jumped up to his knees. “Eleven!” He exclaimed again. “Breakfast!” He said. “I wanted to get up early to make you breakfast.” His face turned sad. “I had waffles. Aww shit.”

“Taron…” The softness of her voice and her hands on her face, made him lift his head to look at her.

“Yeah I know.” He said his eyes avoiding hers. “Just wanted to bring you breakfast in bed.”

“You needed the rest and we still have tomorrow morning.” Brushing his cheeks with her thumbs, he finally looked to her. “You slept the night through and didn’t move once except to get into your bed so it was obvious that your body needed the sleep and needed it more than breakfast.” He nodded under her hands. “And don’t you feel the better for it?”

“Yeah I suppose.”

“And you know another thing I like to do is watch you sleep.” She smiled at him, taking her hands from his face, Taron kneeling back on his heels.

“How many pictures did you take to bribe me with?”

“None.” She assured him. “I can bribe you with head massages.” She sat back on the bed. “So Mr Egerton, what have you planned for today then?”

“Well I had planned breakfast but seeing as how I have slept through that, I guess we both need to get ready to head to this afternoon’s activity and I hate to say it but we have about an hour to get ready. I didn’t mean to sleep so long. I wish I had of told you to wake me yesterday if I fell asleep.”

“Taron!” Robyn laughed. “An hour? I know I don’t take long but talk about a rush.”

He smiled at her. “I have two bathrooms, remember.”

“And you know I can’t wake you when you are sleeping.”

“Yeah I know.” He carefully got off the bed, stretching his whole body awake.

As he stretched, Robyn felt her heart race. He had lost of lot of his muscle since Kingsman finished filming but he was still defined and the softness to his sides and stomach was so attractive to Robyn and she couldn’t help but look at his perfect physic as he woke himself fully up. His jeans sat very low on his hips and that little look she got yesterday was on full show now and Robyn was telling her body to relax. She had seen Taron without his shirt on so many times, had her hands on his chest saving his life and massaging his skin, her fingers trailing through the gorgeously soft hair on his chest but watching him from afar, being sneaky with her glances rose that all too familiar heat in her body she felt when she was around Taron lately.

“So would you like to take the en suite or the bathroom?” He asked her, his voice breaking her slightly sinful thoughts.

“Bathroom is fine for me. I haven’t unpacked and all your things are in your bathroom.”

“Sure.”

“Taron we really only have an hour?” She asked him.

“Sorry chicken. My timing was really bad. Anthony is coming to get us at twelve.”

“Don’t worry. I will be ready.”

She hopped off the bed and grabbed everything she needed from her case, her hands full as she made her way out of the bedroom and into his bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. Taking some shaky breathes, Robyn closed her eyes and only saw imagines of Taron stretching behind them. “Fucking hell.” She cursed to herself, her right hand pulling her bobbin from her hair with a tug. “Does he have to be just so lovely.” She sighed as she moved to the shower to turn the water on. “So bloody lovely and sweet and gorgeous and kind and ughhh.” Her hands went to her face as she exhaled loudly, her hands shaking as she took them down and started to open the buttons on her pyjama top.

The shower water was refreshing, once she had turned the temperature down a notch or two and after thoroughly washing her hair with her favourite scented shampoo and conditioner and did everything else required for her morning shower, she dried off and used her favourite body moisturiser on her skin. A few spritz of heat defence for her hair, she made quick work of getting the wetness out and then drying individual sections and once she was done, added a spray of hairspray to keep fly away strands in place. Taron had told her nothing about his plans except that a nice outfit was required, to which she groaned and rolled her eyes. A nice outfit to her was jeans and a hoodie but she routed through her wardrobe and found a black off the shoulder lace top and pair of skinny jeans she loved to wear. Knowing she had picked heels for their evening, a flat pair of pumps with a little gold design completed her outfit.

She added the tiniest bit of make up to her face with some eye liner and mascara with a small bit of highlight on her cheeks and it was enough for her. She just wasn’t a huge make up person and without the pressure of a premier or a make-up artist to do it for her, simple and easy was best. A plain gloss went on her lips and once she was dressed, sprayed the perfume she always wore when went somewhere nice with Taron, the Hugo Boss orange scent her favourite. Taking one last look in the mirror at herself, she fluffed her hair a little and grinned. Black was always a good choice and she knew Taron would appreciate the off the shoulder style top. Initially she had pulled out a lovely low cut lace V-neck top but after trying it on, it wasn’t suited for what she was sure Taron had planned and was happy to save the quite revealing top for another day. She took her perfume out with her along with her lip gloss and made her way back to the bedroom, knocking on the still open door.

“Come on in chicken.”

Robyn stepped into the bedroom and saw Taron sitting on the bed with his back turned to her. He had a grey silk shirt on but it was all she could see of him, along with his black slacks.

“All good and ready to go and within the hour too.”

She watched as Taron stood up and turned around to face her, the bed between them. The sleeves of his grey shirt were partly rolled up and the top four buttons undone, showing not only a glimpse of a white tank top underneath but a lot of his upper chest. His shirt was tucked into his trousers and his whole outfit was gorgeous on him. She smiled as he walked around the bed and over to her, immediately a waft of his aftershave hitting her senses.

“So are we going to a fancy place then” She asked him. “You are all dressed up.”

“You look nice.”

Robyn grinned at him. “You too and you already knew what I was going to wear.”

“True but I can still say you look nice. Seeing the clothes on a hanger is different than seeing them on and I am ready too. Just need to grab my phone and wallet.”

While Taron routed around for his personal belongings, Robyn got her small black clutch shoulder bag ready. She dropped in her perfume and lip gloss. Sitting on her side of the bed, she picked her ring and the bracelet Taron had given her from the bedside locker and put them on, her fingers running over the silver bracelet, her lips in a small smile as she looked at it. It was still so beautiful to her and she would always cherish it.

Taron leaned on the door frame and watched her as she put the bracelet he got her onto her wrist, glad to see she could manage the catch herself. His eyes wandered up and to her bare shoulders. It wasn’t a backless dress that he picked that she wore but he appreciated the extra skin on show from her lacy black top and when he told her she looked nice, inside his heart was yelling at him to tell she looked beautiful as always but he kept tight lipped, even more so at how her perfume made parts of him tingle.

“You all set?” He asked her.

“Yep. Just have to grab my jacket but I threw it on your couch yesterday so God only knows where it could be.”

On que, Taron held up her leather jacket to her. “Found it.” He grinned. He threw it her way and his smile grew as he held up his own. “Wouldn’t be us if we didn’t match somehow right?”

“You had to pick a leather one?” She groaned as she stood up. “You probably have a whole wardrobe of jackets. Pick a different one!”

Taron chuckled as he slipped his arms into his coat. “Nope, sorry chicken. Completes my outfit.”

“Taron come on!” Robyn pulled her own coat on. “It’s my birthday weekend.” She tried, giving him a little pout. “Please?” She asked softly walking over to him. “It’s not a red-carpet thing or a media thing so us matching isn’t really needed right?” She gently gripped the left and right seam of his leather jacket. “I mean I am sure there is another lovely coat you can choose to wear instead.”

“Wicked Irish womanly powers.” He said to her but his face was smiling. “Sure. Help me pick one.”

With a little skip, Robyn turned and walked out of the bedroom, reaching for Taron’s hand as she went, dragging him a little behind. She stopped outside his little closet at his door where she knew he hung his coats and letting go his hand opening it wide. “Ok let’s see. No, no, nope.”

Taron stood behind her a little, still smiling as he watched her look through his coats.

“Try this one.” She handed him his demin coat with the brown collar and he slipped out of his leather jacket, handing it to Robyn who hung it back up and when she turned around, her nose crinkled up. “Oh no. Take it off.”

“No?” Asked Taron fixing the collar. “I like this jacket.”

“Me too but not with this look. Off.”

With a chuckle, Taron did as she asked and handed it to her and she hung it up and placed it back on the rail. “My leather one is perfect.”

Robyn didn’t answer him but got her hands on plain black coat with a simple silver zip up the front and a single side zipped pocket over the left breast of the coat. “This one.” She slipped it off the hanger and turned around to Taron. “Try this one.”

With a nod, Taron put on the coat and as he shuffled it so it fit his shoulders better, he looked to Robyn and she was grinning his way. “This one?”

“Yep.”

“Ok then. So now that you are happy with my outfit, can we go? I am sure Anthony is downstairs waiting for us.”

“Sure.”

Making sure they had all they needed, they left Taron’s flat and headed towards the gate, greeting Ben as he opened the black steel frames for them. Outside the gates, a familiar blacked out car was waiting for them and the driver door opened, Anthony stepping out.

“Good afternoon Taron, Miss Quinn.”

“Anthony!” Robyn puffed. “Please call me Robyn!”

“Of course Miss Quinn.” He grinned, opening the door of the car to let them in, Taron letting Robyn in first.

Once they were settled in the car, Anthony closed the door of the car and got in the driver’s seat. “Taron it will be about half an hour with traffic, could be a little more.”

“That should be fine Anthony. Thank you.”

As the car moved off Robyn turned to Taron. “Right ok, so what do I need to do to get Anthony to call me Robyn? This Miss Quinn thing is getting old quickly.”

Taron chuckled. “You feeling your age Miss Quinn? Ow shit! Robyn!” He rubbed his arm where she had punched him. “Jesus Christ you are strong.”

“I am not old.” She replied crossing her arms. “Just ‘cos you are younger.”

Taron smiled, still rubbing his arm. “And you are not old darling.” He swung his left arm around her shoulders, trying to make peace with her through a hug. “And I think you will have to talk to Elton about the Miss Quinn thing.” He whispered into her hair, giving her temple a little kiss and nuzzle, the scent from her shampoo so lovely. “And chicken, you are definitely not old.” He let his nose and lips brush over her skin again. “And so beautiful.”

“Pfft.” Robyn still sat in a huff, trying to ignore his soft lips on her head but when he moved his head down and quickly kissed her neck, she giggled and pushed him away. “Alright, you’re forgiven.” He had taken his arm away from her shoulder, but she took his hand and guided it over her head and around her shoulders again. “And I guess I will have to talk to Elton then.”

“Best person.” Taron agreed.

“So you going to tell me where we are going?”

“You can’t wait another twenty minutes?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Sorry chicken. I have done well to keep the surprise a surprise this far, I am going to remain tight lipped.” He laughed a little. “But I know you will love it.”

“I have loved everything so far.” She agreed. “And you too, even though you called me old.”

“I love you too even though you punched me.”

Robyn reached for her right hand and brought it to her lap, immediately running her thumbs over the back of his hand. “Sorry.”

“I deserved it.”

“Maybe a little but I am sorry.”

Taron chuckled. “No worries Robyn.”

Leaning into her a little, her let her continue her little hand massage, watching as she slowly dug her thumbs in circles on his skin, running over his knuckles and then down his fingers before turning his hand over and rubbing the inside of his palm. On hearing a rumble, she looked to Taron. “Maybe we should have fed you.” His stomach rumbled again. “Or even gotten you some coffee.”

“I have it all under control Robyn. Won’t be rumbling for long.”

“So we are going for food? And it is not breakfast because you wanted to make that for me. Lunch? Are you going for lunch? Or is it brunch?” Taron pretended to zip his lips. “Will you get some coffee?”

Shaking his head Taron then nodded. “I am sure I will be able to get some coffee.”

“And some nice food?”

“Nice try Robyn but I am not telling you.”

“But it is definitely food?” She quizzed. “Italian food? Irish food? British food? Mexican? Spanish? American? South American?”

“Robyn!” Taron laughed loudly as she listed off in one breathe several various food nationalities. “It’s fifteen minutes!” He gave her hand which was massaging his, a light squeeze. “Not great for the old surprises are you?”

“Haven’t had the best luck with them in the past.” She said more to herself than him.

Taron hugged her tight against him. “Have I ever let you down?” He asked. “Not counting New York in this.” He whispered.

“Never.” She answered him back.

“You’re going to love it. Only thirteen minutes to go.”

She swotted his hand lightly but then picked up his right hand in her two and resumed her little massage on his hand, going over each individual finger one at a time. Robyn had long fingers, perfect for playing piano, but Taron’s hand was strong and large and she lined her right hand up against his, smiling at the difference between them.

Taron chuckled at her little giggle as he watched her measure out their hands. “Smaller doesn’t mean any less strong. It’s thanks to your hands that I am here and I never forget that.” He brought her hand to his body, slipping it under his jacket and pressed it against his chest. “Still beating.” Robyn smiled at his gesture, not taking her hand away. “You know you have my full permission to do this whenever you want.”

“I know. Haven’t felt the need to do so in a very long time.”

“Getting closer to August.” Taron said quietly.

“Sure is.” Robyn agreed just as quietly.

“You still think about it? What happened?” He asked his voice very quiet.

Robyn nodded. “Yep.” She pressed her hand a little harder against his chest. “I don’t think I will ever not think about it but we have lots of other things that take preference in my thoughts.”

“Me too.” He agreed.

“So where are we going?” She asked him, giggling as he sighed loudly letting his head hit the back of the seat. “Fine I will wait.” She stretched over and kissed his jaw lightly. “I can wait.”

Taron smiled and feeling her take his hand again, he shook his head as he looked down to his hand in hers. Glad to hear she was feeling just like him but happy to leave the conversation at that. He didn’t want to ruin the happy mood they were both in, or the excitedness that was running through his blood because he knew Robyn’s first birthday treat of the day was going to be a good one.


	4. “Friendship is the purest love.”

They sat in silence for the remainder of the journey, Anthony breaking the easy quiet by letting them know they had arrived at Taron’s secret destination. Robyn moved to look out the window and then looked back to Taron.

“You serious?” She asked.

“Yep.”

“The Savoy?”

Robyn moved to look out the window once more and at the beautiful stone building that was in front of her, the large glass Savoy sign as clear as day, the gold statue of the solider on top, the flags either side. It was refined and glamourous and the gold details alone on the outside of the building were expensive and stunning. She looked back to Taron as Anthony moved to get out of the car. “What have you been planning?” She asked him, only getting a wink and smile in return.

Their door was opened and Taron just shrugged his shoulders. “One more minute to wait chicken.” He got out of the car and held his hand out for Robyn to take, helping her from the car. He held onto her hand as Anthony closed the car door.

“Just give me a call Taron and I will be with you.”

“Thanks Anthony.”

“Thank you Anthony.”

“You are more than welcome Miss Quinn.”

Robyn’s face stayed in a frown for a moment as the black car drove away and she was left standing with Taron in the entrance of one of the most beautiful hotels in London.

“So, do I get to know now what the surprise is?” She asked Taron who wore the biggest grin, his eyes bright, his dimples deep in his cheeks. “What is that grin for. Oh God Taron what have you planned?” Robyn’s frown remained on her face.

“Why don’t you turn around and see.” He simply replied to her.

With some hesitation but seeing Taron’s trusting face, Robyn turned on her heels, a little slowly. She felt Taron’s hands on her shoulders, moving her body in the direction he wanted to her look and past the hedges on the opposite side of the road, stood someone very familiar. Robyn felt the frown melting from her face and turned very quickly to look at Taron who gave her one simple nod, his face still smiling. Giving him a smile back, Robyn took to a jog, checking the road before she crossed, her pace increasing as she reached the hedges and almost jumped into Richard’s arms.

“I hear it is someone’s birthday!” He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Robyn, giving her a tight cuddle back.

“That’s just a rumour going around.” She replied with a laugh.

“A rumour?” Richard repeated.

“Yep. My birthday was on Wednesday.”

“Don’t listen to her. This whole weekend is her birthday.” Taron had watched the reunion from afar with a grin and slowly made his way across the road. He had been speaking to Richard as he always would, keeping up to date with each other, when he had told his Scottish friend that Robyn was coming to London for her birthday and Richard had immediately asked if he could meet them, knowing he was going to be around, giving Taron a simple idea for a birthday present for their favourite and most treasured friend. Since Florida, the trio had seen each other once and that was at Elton’s auction back in October and since then it was a very quick phone or skype call, Richard and Robyn texting each other over the last few months too, that kept them in contact but they had only ever seen each other physically once in the last nine months.

Robyn turned her head to look at Taron and then giving her attention back to Richard, gave him another squeeze before letting him go. She smiled as Richard kissed her two cheeks before he let her go. “Happy birthday.”

Robyn turned and stood beside Richard, the two facing Taron. “You couldn’t have wrapped Richard?” She asked him, smiling.

Taron laughed. “Didn’t really have the time chicken.”

“Chicken?” Richard asked raising an eyebrow at his friend. “You are still calling her chicken?”

Taron grinned. “Yeah it kinda stuck.”

Richard looked to Robyn who just shrugged. “It stuck. I don’t mind it. So if Richard is my birthday present, then I approve.” Robyn winked to Taron, whose smile faded a little.

“He isn’t exactly a present.” Taron replied with a little hint of sulkiness to his voice. “But is part of the present and this is all on him. I just had to get you here.”

Robyn stepped forward closer to Taron. “You are not leaving are you?” She turned to Richard. “Not that I don’t love seeing you Richard, you know I do but…” Her words trailed off, looking to Taron once more.

“My present to you involves all three of us.” Richard said, not feeling anyway put out by the fact that Robyn was worried Taron was going to leave. He knew about and understood the connection they both had with each other, already seeing how different they moved around each other since the last time he saw them together. “But before that, this is for you.” He pulled a wrapped gift from the inside of his coat pocket. “Happy birthday.” Handing the present out to Robyn, he nodded for her to take it. “Come on, presents are mandatory on birthdays.”

Robyn took the beautifully wrapped red and gold present from him. “Richard…”

“Taron was right.” Richard stood beside his friend and nudged him.

“About?”

“You are not good accepting gifts but give so many willingly.”

Robyn titled her head a little, a light sigh coming from her whole body. “I am just not used to this, that’s all. I get a card from my parents and Claire would buy me something but this…” She gestured to the two men in front of her. “It’s just new.”

“Open the present Robyn.” Taron instructed her, knowing she was getting ready for another one of her wonderfully long-winded sentences that normally only ended when he hugged her.

Looking to the rectangle gift, Robyn gave in and pulled at the tape at the top of the present and when she saw something red inside, her whole face lit up. She ripped the wrapping right down the middle and her smile grew. “Thank you Richard.”

“Those are for you. Not to be shared with him.”

“Deal.”

“Hey!” Taron protested. “I always share my turtles with you.”

Robyn looked to the Welshman and give him a wink. “Sorry rocketman. These are mine.”

“Rocketman?” Richard grinned. “Oh dear God no. That stuck too? I am so glad we have the time to actually catch up with each other. I feel I have missed a whole lot.”

Robyn put the two packets of turtles in her bag and took a step over to Richard so she could him again. “Thank you. My own personal turtle dealer.”

Richard chuckled. “Be careful how you word that Robyn or don’t say it too loud.” He kissed her cheek again before ending the hug.

Robyn took a small step away from him. “So I am presuming that we are not going to have our catch up here and Taron said this was on you?” She pointed to the entrance of the Savoy. “Can you tell me now what is going on please?”

“We are bringing you for afternoon tea here at the Savoy.” Taron finally explained.

“We?” Richard asked with a half-smile.

“Ok fine. Richard wanted to bring you to afternoon tea for your birthday and I am just tagging along as the third wheel.” Taron replied, his tone playfully grumpy.

Robyn smiled, suddenly quite excited for her birthday surprise. “I love afternoon tea and to have it with my two favourite celebs? Bonus!” She stepped forward so she stood in between the two of them. “So which way to cake and tea.” While she hooked her arm around right Richard’s elbow, she slipped her left hand into Taron’s right and linked her fingers with his, giving them a firm squeeze, so glad to feel one back.

“Lead the way Richard. This is your gift to her.” Taron gestured with his left hand towards the doors of the hotel.

“Happy to do so.” He placed his hand over Robyn’s on his arm then letting her arm slip from his, started to walk toward the entrance of the hotel. Robyn kept her hand tight in Taron’s as they followed behind.

“I have told you before, jealously does not suit you.” She whispered to him.

“Not jealous.” Taron answered her.

“Could have fooled me.” She replied, giving his hand one more squeeze before letting his hand go and catching up with Richard just a few paces in front of them. His heart was thumbing heart and could feel that all too familiar heat rising to his cheeks as he watched Robyn and Richard chat to each other, their happy voices drifting back to him. He shook his head and internally told himself he was being dramatic and caught up with his friends.

It was a swivel wooden door that met them and Robyn thanked Richard as he stood back to let her go first and with a fixed smile on her face, walked into the revolving door once there was an opening and grinned as the door turned itself and she didn’t have to move it. Her smile grew as she was greeted by a smartly dressed man in a top hat, welcoming her to the Savoy and she stepped into the open spaced lobby, walking a few paces so she could take everything in. She had only ever seen the hotel in pictures or on TV and the only way to appreciate the grandness of the hotel was by actually seeing it in her person. The black and white check floor was gleaming in the light of the chandeliers above, the wooden features all around dotted with artwork and photographs. To her right some elegant mis-matched furniture was placed, guests sitting on the patterned couches chatting. In front her was a large white archway, a set of stairs leading down into another beautiful part of the hotel, a stunning large arrangement of pink flowers right in the middle of the lower floor.

As Robyn took in the hotel inside, Richard had let Taron into the glass turning doors first but joined him quickly so the two walked slowly together into the hotel.

“You wanna relax there a bit rocketman?” Richard said to Taron, a hint of teasing to his voice. “I am not trying to step on your toes. I know you walk on air around her.” His friend looked to him, guilt all over his face. “And besides, she only has eyes for you.”

The two walked into the lobby together, coming to stand behind Robyn as she looked all around and Taron placed a hand on Richard’s shoulder, giving him a thank you look with his eyes, Richard giving his friend a wink.

“I don’t think I dressed fancy enough. Should have pulled out the fancy fancy clothes.” Robyn felt the boys behind her and turned to them. “This is beautiful.”

Richard nodded. “Definitely a must visit when in London.”

“I have been to London so many times and never been in here let alone seen the outside.”

“Prefer a Premier Inn, right?” Taron asked with a laugh.

“Most comfortable out there.” Robyn agreed.

“Welcome to the Savoy.” A gentleman dressed in a black suit and crisp white shirt approached the three of them. “How may I help you this afternoon?”

“I have an afternoon tea booking at twelve thirty for three under Richard Madden?”

“Of course sir. If you would like to follow me to our Thames Foyer where our tea is set.”

The gentleman led the way down the steps under the archway and turned right, going through another set of doors into another beautifully designed room. The black and white check tiles still spanned the floor, the walls were covered in a decorative cream and red wallpaper and on the table in the middle, an arrangement of orange flowers.

“The receptionist will look after you from here.”

“Thank you.”

While Richard stood speaking with the lady behind the wooden desk, Robyn wandered around the room, taking in the artwork on the walls, hearing the happy chatter of those in the hotel.

“Did you have a hard time keeping this quiet?” She asked Taron as he came to stand beside her.

“A bit but I know Richard wanted it to be a surprise and the look on your face was worth it. I know it’s so hard for the three of us to see each other and we really never have had a chance to sit and talk together since Florida. I know your birthday is probably not the right time but he wanted to see you and give you a birthday present.”

“It’s the perfect time.” She assured him. “I am looking forward to the company and little cakes and tea. So much better than typical food.”

“Robyn you don’t even drink tea.”

She smiled turning to him. “At afternoon tea I do and you get to have some coffee.”

“I think I will have tea too and seriously, you drink the tea?”

“Cups of it.”

“Robyn, Taron? We’re good to go.”

On hearing Richard’s voice, they waked back over to him and the three followed the receptionist back the way they came and towards the room used for afternoon tea. Wide and spacious, the room was bright with white walls and a very high ceiling, a dome right in the centre letting the natural day light in. Underneath the dome, was a steel ornate gazebo, a grand piano in the centre in which a man was seated playing easy listening music to all the guests enjoying their high tea. Along the walls at measured intervals were mirrored archways A soft navy carpet with intricate white detail covered the floor and as Robyn walked behind the boys, she was able to take all the details in and admire the matching tables and chairs, each nicely spaced away from each other so all the guests had sufficient space from others. She did notice the few stares that came her way but knew they were more so for the two wonderful men in front of her and was so glad to see that their table was nicely placed in a corner, a table for four, prepared for three diners.

“Please take a seat. Your server with be with you shortly. Enjoy your tea.”

“Thank you.”

Taron and Robyn took the two chairs on the inside against the wall, while Richard choose the seat opposite Robyn, all taking their coats off and getting settled at their table.

“This place is gorgeous.” Robyn said. “Have you been here before?” She asked them.

“I have been inside the hotel but never stayed here.” Richard said.

“Same for me.”

A spotlessly dressed waiter walked over their table. “Good afternoon and welcome to the Thames Foyer. My name is James and I am going to be your server this afternoon. Along with our traditional afternoon we also have a selection of teas or coffee. Our teas include English breakfast, rosehip, earl grey and others which can be viewed on our menu on the table. We also a various coffee selection too. There wasn’t any request on the booking for a tea for an allergy but I just want to make sure one isn’t needed?”

“None needed.” Richard confirmed.

“Great. Well, I will give you a moment to look at the tea menu.”

As the server walked away from the table, they picked up the tea menu, Robyn briefly glancing at the words before dropping her menu back down.

“That quick huh?” Taron asked.

“Good old breakfast tea it will have to be as they don’t have Irish tea on the menu.”

“For someone who doesn’t drink tea, you are very particular. Isn’t tea tea?”

Robyn grinned. “I am an avid sponsor of everything Irish.”

Taron was desperate to answer with a reply of ‘me too’ but managed to hold it in, trying to concentrate on the menu, choosing his own drink.

“I am going to stick with the old breakfast tea as well but wonder if they could bring some coffee over too.” Richard mused.

“I was thinking the same.” Taron agreed. “I definitely need some coffee.”

“Filming that bad huh?” Richard asked.

“Been tough, I am not going to lie.” Taron looked to his friend. “The script is challenging, the words hard to say, to act and the reactions on screen so far haven’t really needed to be acted out much to be honest. They are so very real.”

“The effort will be worth it in the end.”

“That’s what I keep telling him.” Robyn nodded in agreement with Richard.

“Always here if you need a chat mate.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling him too!”

“And you should always listen to a woman. They know best.”

“Strangely enough, I have been telling him that too.” Robyn gave Richard a wink.

“Especially one that got you up and running again.”

No-one got the chance to reply to Richard truthful words as their waiter returned. “So what can get you all to drink?”

“I will just have your Savoy breakfast tea.” Robyn said handing the tea menu over.

“I will have the same please.” Richard was happy for the simple choice of tea.

“I will go with the Savoy breakfast tea as well but would be possible to get some coffee too?” Taron asked.

“Sure no problem at all. I can bring over a pot of coffee too with the teas.”

“That’s great. Thank you.”

“I will be back shortly with everything for you.”

Richard waited for the server to be out of ear-shot before he turned back to his friends. “So I very much brought the mood down quickly right? Sorry Robyn and on your birthday too.”

Robyn shook her head and reached over to take Richard’s hand. “Not at all. Taron and I were just saying in the car how close August is. I mean this time last year I was working in Clearwater. The months are going by so fast.”

“Do you think back on it much?” The Scotsman asked, deep blue eyes looking at her through long eyelashes, still holding her hand.

She nodded, not missing how Taron had turned his head to look her way. “A lot more last year then this year. Getting to see this one…” She gestured her head towards Taron. “Has helped a lot. Means I can check up on him, make sure he is ok but as we get closer to that year mark, what happened has been on my mind a lot more. A few bad dreams too.” Robyn completely avoided Taron’s gaze but felt his hand on her knee under the table. “Hard not to think about it Richard and we always will.”

“I am glad to hear you say that.” Richard gave her hand a squeeze. “Because I still think about it.” He closed his eyes and took a steadying breathe. “I can still hear the gun shot.” He looked to Taron. “Still see you under the shelf unconscious, all the blood.”

Robyn felt Taron move closer to her and didn’t miss how his left hand sneaked around her waist. It was a lovely comforting gesture and was glad of his soft touch because as soon as Richard said it, the image of Taron out cold under the metal shelf, a pool of red liquid around him came to her mind. “Me too Richard but then I think of how everything worked out ok. We all came out, perhaps a little battered and bruised, somewhat traumatised but we are all safe.”

“Thanks to you.” Richard said firmly.

“It was all of us, together.”

Taron gave her waist a squeeze. “Bullshit and you know that.” He said. “It was you who looked after us all and Richard, I feel it too. Jesus Richard every time I look in the mirror I see the scar on my head, even more so now with new hair.” He rolled his eyes a little. “And then I see the one on my arm and all I have to do is put my hand on my chest…” Taron took his hand from Robyn’s knee and put it over his heart on his shirt. “And it all comes back to me and it always will.” He reached over to cover Robyn and Richard still encased hands with his. “It will always be with us but with time as we know from the last few months, it gets easier. I think because it is getting closer to August, emotions and feelings are raw once again but we are here for each other when the dreams come back or when our minds start over thinking it all.”

“It’s not something we will ever forget or brush to the side.” Robyn agreed. “And I guess because Taron and I see each other more then I see you, it’s not as easy for you.”

Richard immediately shook his head. “Not at all. My friends and family have been amazing and I know you are only a phone call away. Just being back together for longer than ten minutes…” Richard trailed off. “Shit Robyn, not the way I wanted your birthday to be.”

Without even thinking Robyn stood up, Taron’s hand falling from her waist and she walked around to Richard, pulling on his hands, making him stand up and engulfed him in a tight hug, her arms wrapping tightly around his back. He was slightly taller than Taron, his shoulders not as broad but it was a cuddle and comfort she knew he needed and she didn’t care that they were in the middle of the afternoon tearoom. His eyes were sad and confused and she didn’t want him feeling anyway distressed about what happened so many months ago.

Taron watched on as Robyn gave Richard what could only be described as a very squishy hug. He was a little glad that her hands stayed on his back though and didn’t wander up to Richard’s neck and she tucked herself into him neatly, seeing his friend hug Robyn back firmly.

“You wouldn’t be human if you still didn’t get emotional over it all Richard. It was a horrible scary experience and believe me, I may look put together but I am not. Still get the flashes, the dreams are coming back and at times I still watch over Taron to make sure he is breathing when he is sleeping, just don’t tell Taron that.” She felt him finally relax against her. “Don’t be worrying about ruining anything. I am so glad to see you, to be able to sit down and actually have a chat and if the conversation rolls around to the 7/11 then that’s fine. It’s meant to be. It’s good to talk about it.”

“Still the overly concerned and logical Robyn.”

She laughed against him a little. “Some things don’t change.”

“Apart from the fact that this time, instead of looking after Taron, you are absolutely in love with him.” He whispered into her ear. “Don’t change.” He said a bit louder. “Thank you.”

“Now as much as I love getting a hug from you, ‘cos God only knows I owe you many, I think we should sit back down. People are now staring.”

“Thought you didn’t give a shit about what people think?”

“Someone has been gossiping with a certain Welshman!” She chuckled as she moved her face away from his chest. “And yes that is true but ya know, I can feel his eyes staring at me” She motioned to Taron, who was sitting back against the couch smiling.

“Don’t mind me. The longer you hug, the more cakes I get.”

“No more sad blue eyes ok?” Robyn placed her hands on Richard’s face gently. “Only smiling and laughing from now on.”

“Sure.”

Finally getting back to their seats, Robyn turned to Taron. “You need a hug now too?”

“Nah I am good.”

She smiled a little his way. “Really?”

“Well maybe a little one.”

Robyn moved to sit closer against him and leaned into his side, wrapping her right arm around his waist, giving his cheek a kiss, Taron closing his eyes as Robyn’s soft warm lips met his temple too before opening them to see Richard winking at him.

The waiter arrived back at their table, pushing an ornate gold serving trolley and Robyn grinned as it was laden down with their afternoon tea. She moved away from Taron to sit properly on her chair.

“So we have tea for three.” He placed three shining silver teapots on the table. “And one pot of coffee.” He added a glass percolator that was filled with steaming hot coffee to the table. “And for each of you…” The waiter very carefully placed three individual tiered china serving dishes in the middle of the table. “On our menu today we have selection of finger sandwiches. Starting from the left we Ayrshire ham with apple chutney on wholemeal bread, coronation chicken on a brioche roll, egg salad on white bread, smoked Scottish salmon with melted cheese on brown bread and a mozzarella and beef tomato on herb and spinach bread.” The server moved to gesture towards the second plate. “Next we have our freshly baked raisin and plain scones, warm from the oven accompanied with clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry preserve.” He moved to the third and top china plate. “And finally our afternoon tea pastries. Again, from left to right we have a seasonal summer gateaux, hazelnut cake with salted caramel, mango and passion fruit jelly, black cherry bavarois, pineapple tart, a lemon meringue pie, a classic opera cake, a coffee butter cream biscuit, an éclair and a delicate fondant rose cake.” The waiter turned back to his serving tray and picked up two champagne glasses filled with sparkling gold liquid. “As it is a special occasion…” He placed a glass in front of Robyn and Taron and then picked another one from the tray and put it carefully beside Richard. “These are for you to celebrate a birthday.” He reached down and picked up a pristine white china plate decorated with gold flowers and put it in front of Robyn. “Happy birthday from all of us here at The Savoy. Now please enjoy. If you would like a refill of tea or any of the cakes please just ask.” Wheeling the trolley away, he left the three at the table with the treats.

Robyn looked down to her own special plate which held a stunning circular chocolate cake, coated in a shiny chocolate ganache, drizzles of white chocolate over it, gold leaf on top and the words ‘Happy Birthday Robyn’ wrote in chocolate on the plate itself. She looked to the boys who were both grinning. “Right ok, who told?”

“It might have slipped when I was booking the reservation when they asked was this a special occasion.” Richard said picking up his glass of champagne. “I do believe a toast is in order.” He waved his glass a little and when Robyn and Taron picked up their glasses he spoke again. “To Robyn on her birthday.”

“And to wonderful friends.” Robyn added quickly, the three tipping glasses off each other, all taking a sip.

“Right now coffee.” Taron reached for the coffee and poured it into the blue and white delicate flower decorated tea cup. “May need a few of these. Doesn’t hold much.”

“You need to switch to tea after one cup.” Robyn said as he handed the pot to Richard. She reached for the teapot nearest her and opening the lid, used the teaspoon to stir the liquid around, making sure she gave the tea bag inside a squeeze or two.

“One of these cups doesn’t even equal a normal coffee for me. It will have to be at least four.” Taron dropped a square sugar cube into his coffee, then added some milk.

“Richard thank you so much for this.” Robyn could hear her stomach rumbling as she looked at the delicious looking food in front of her. The pastries were colourful and bright, some dusted with glitter, some with intricate chocolate work and the ruby red flower on the cupcake was insane. Even the sandwiches were cut in perfect rectangles, all equal in size and height and the smells from the food in front of her was making her mouth water.

“You are more than welcome but I guess Taron and I benefit from it too.” Richard said picking a sandwich from the tray. “Growing men need to eat.”

Robyn chuckled as she closed the tea pot. “Well this is definitely suited to Taron then.”

Taron who was taking a sip from his coffee, looked to her mid sip, seeing the smile on her face. He put his cup down and wanted to give her smart answer but knew she was right. “I am very excited to get started.”

Using the plates to their left, the three happily munched through the sandwiches, talking about Taron’s and Richard filming and Robyn’s own work, laughter filling the air as they caught up with each other, not worrying when one of them brought up a memory from Florida, all three reminiscing about their time sitting on the floor on the check red blanket.

“I am still impressed by the first aid skills Robyn.” Richard said as he passed her a plain scone. “I can’t look at some salt without thinking about the water you made to clean up the cuts we had or how you used the ice and sandwich bags too.”

“I find it hard at times myself especially when I hear that one of the girls in work need a cold compress.” Robyn said as he cut her scone in two. “My mind goes back to the 7/11 a little but touch wood…” She gently touched her head and then looked to Taron who was adding some jam to his scone. “Taron was the last time I used those first aid skills. Only been some scrapped knees since.”

“I feel honoured.” The Welshman grinned taking a bite from his scone. “But don’t really want to find myself needing a home-made cold compress again.”

“Me neither.”

With the three teapots refilled, the third layer of china plates was taken down and Robyn sat back in her chair, feeling full.

“Giving up?” Taron asked her.

“So full.”

He gently poked her stomach. “Always leave room for dessert.” He chuckled.

“This whole tea is dessert!”

“Well we can bring it back to my flat and I can eat it later.”

“Not a chance in hell!” Robyn laughed pulling her plate of parties closer to her. “Mine. You have your own.” Thinking about the desserts on the plate, she lifted brown coffee cream biscuit and placed it on his plate. “You can have this one. It is coffee flavoured.”

With an approving smile, Taron picked up the biscuit and bit into it, taking half of it into his mouth. He chewed for a second. “Oh my God. This is so good. Robyn you will like this. It doesn’t taste like coffee. Here.” Holding the biscuit in his right hand, he brought it closer to her and giving her encouragement, she leaned into his hand and took a bite from the biscuit, holding her hand under Taron’s to catch any falling crumbs. He ate the last piece and watched as Robyn’s face grew into a smile.

“You are not touching my cakes.” She said firmly. “My goodness that is delicious.”

Richard watched the interaction between the two with a smile on his face. The innocent flirting, the touches and shy smiles exchanged between the two were new to him but he had seen the photos from Taron’s premier and in a still picture it was just as obvious the love between the two. He wasn’t really surprised to see their developing relationship because when he spoke to Robyn at Elton’s for that brief moment outside on the balcony, he could see how much Robyn already loved Taron, even if she had yet to see it for herself and being one of Taron’s best male friends, he definitely knew Taron’s true and honest feelings about Robyn amongst other things Taron couldn’t hold back. Pouring some more tea into his cup, he then reached for one of the small cakes on his plate, digging his fork into it and tasting it.

“Try the jelly. So good.” He told his friends sitting opposite him.

Taking turns and trying the different delicate pastries, taking a bit from each one, letting the other know what they thought, deciding which ones they liked the best and least as they shared the small treats but soon, they were beaten by the tiny cakes and all three had to admit defeat and none could finish their afternoon tea.

“I guess it will be a boxed up to be brought home then.” Robyn said with a grin, seeing Taron’s face light up. “If you excuse me, I am going to go and find the bathroom. I drank way too much tea.”

Collecting her clutch bag and leaving the table, Robyn left the beautiful room to go and find the bathrooms.

“You want to pop your tongue back in your mouth there rocketman? You are drooling all over the table!” Richard laughed as Taron scowled his way. “You really got it bad!”

Taron’s scowl turned to a frown and then his face turned a little sad. “And worse.” He ran his hands down his face. “I love her.”

“I know. I think she might just love you too and don’t look at me like that. I thought something was starting when I saw you both at Elton’s but my God Taron, she watches you like a hawk.”

“Always has.”

“Why don’t you tell her?” He watched as Taron shook his head. “Mate come on. I can see you holding back.”

“Not the right time.”

“Not the right time? Jesus Taron, that woman saved your life, has been a constant support for you and given you a place to go whenever you need a break and I don’t just mean her home. I got one of those hugs you talk about constantly.”

“She’s a little broken,”

“Then fix her. I am pretty sure she won’t mind.”

Taron shook his head once more. “Not this weekend.”

“Would be a wonderful birthday gift to her.” On seeing Taron shake his head once more, Richard sighed. “How broken?”

“Arsehole cheated on her for over a year with her best friend and literally tore her whole soul apart. I must be so careful Richard. She is just the most precious thing in the world.”

“She might not be as broken as you think.”

“I can’t hurt her.”

Richard’s face fell at the tone of Taron’s voice. “You won’t and believe me mate, she feels the same way and I know you know it or you wouldn’t be sneaking your arm around her waist or letting her kiss your head.” He saw a smile grow on Taron’s face though the Welshman tried very hard not to let it happen. “Sleeping in the same bed? Cuddles and hugs? And kisses? Going for a swim in Aber and in the pool last weekend and let’s not even mention Paris. Believe me, a woman doesn’t do all that out of the goodness of her heart for no reason, especially someone like Robyn who has this unbelievable hard shell that you know I have seen first-hand. She adores you Taron and maybe you can just show her the full Taron experience!” Richard winked at his friend.

“Jesus Richard!”

“Slightly frustrated at any point?” Richard joked earning him a kick under the table. “Need some time alone!”

“Richard! Fucks sake.” Taron felt his cheeks furiously flush and frowned at his friend, biting his lip a little.

“Sooner you say something, sooner you have some help!” Richard laughed, moving his legs before Taron could kick him hard again. “Just saying…” He trailed off laughing as Taron blushed a deeper red.

Taron was so grateful for the return of their server who walked over with a smile. “So everything ok here? Can I get you anything else?”

“No thank you.” Taron answered hoping his bright cheeks has calmed down. “But could we get the pastries we didn’t eat boxed up?”

“Sure of course. All the same box?”

“Two boxes please.” Taron pushed his and Robyn’s half eaten cakes together. “These can go in the same box.”

“No problem at all. I will look after that for you now.” The waiter picked up the three china plates.

“Thank you.” Taron looked to Richard who was still grinning at him as the waiter walked away. “I am going to go to the bathroom too. I drank a lot of tea and coffee too.”

“Hmm tea and coffee.” Richard teased as Taron eased himself up from his chair and walked past him, Taron lightly clipping him on the back of his head as he stood behind him.

“And as I said to my mates on New Year’s Eve, she is the woman who saved my life, a little bit of respect please.”

Richard turned to Taron, a look of guilt on his face. “You know I have the upmost respect for her.” He placed his hand on Taron’s shoulder. “I just don’t want you missing out.”

“I am not, I promise.” With a nod, Taron made his way through the tables in the room, heading for the archway entrance and the bathrooms, a smile finding his face as he saw Robyn walking his way.

“Hello stranger.” She chuckled as they stopped moving closer to the wall so not to be in the way of others passing by. “You making your escape? Or going to find more cake?”

His heart warmed as her words instantly lifted his mood and he shook his head. “Nope. On the way to the bathroom.”

“Ahh the curse of way too much tea.”

“And coffee.” He agreed.

“You ok? You’re a little flushed.”

Taron smiled. She could always read him so well. “I am just so stuffed from the cakes.”

“And we still have a birthday cake at your flat to eat.”

“Might have to share that with the neighbours. I will be right back.” Gently touching her elbow Taron walked past her heading in the direction which she had come from.

Robyn headed back to their table and slipped into her seat opposite Richard. “What did you say to him?” She asked.

“To who?”

“You know who.” Richard’s face fell a little. “What will be will be and I know it’s what you ‘guy’s’ do but any chance you can go easy on the friendly banter?”

Richard’s smiled a little. “He went pretty red.”

“You know how I feel about him but there is too much at stake Richard. As I told you at Elton’s I would rather have him as a friend then not have him at all.”

“And as I said to you, you both deserve so much more.”

“And I won’t hurt him.”

Richard shook his head. “As if you could. Take the chance Robyn. It will be absolutely worth it and that broken heart of yours, well I truly believe Taron can fix that with one kiss and not a kiss from a bet.”

Robyn looked past Richard to see Taron walking back to their tables, his cheeks settled back to their normal colour. “I very much appreciate how much you care about us but this is something that will take time to work itself out.”

“You two are so bloody stubborn.” Richard said sitting back in his chair his arms crossing over his chest. “I just wish you could see yourselves from everyone else’s eyes.”

She didn’t answer him, looking to Taron instead as he walked over to her and behind her chair to sit on his own. “Those bathrooms never cease to amaze me.”

“Pretty fancy alright.” Robyn agreed.

The server came back to their table once again and placed two white boxes on their table. “All set to go.”

“Thanks very much,” Taron replied.

“I hope everything was to your liking?” The three nodded. “Wonderful. Well thank you for joining us here at The Savoy for afternoon tea and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”

The waiter walked away from the table, moving on to another close by.

“Richard thank you so very much for this. It was perfect.”

“You are more than welcome. I thought it was a nice birthday present.”

“The best and the fact that we could all sit and catch up, made it so much better.”

They sat for another twenty minutes before getting to their feet and putting their coats on, walking through the lobby for one last time and out to the entrance of the hotel. Robyn, although had such a lovely afternoon with the boys, was feeling sad at having to say goodbye to Richard, not knowing when she would see him again. While Taron sat against the shelf in the 7/11 trying his best to stay awake and contour his pain, she spent the time speaking with Richard, getting to know him and while herself and Taron had a unique bond, Richard was very special to her too.

“We will see each other again.” Richard easily saw the sad look on Robyn’s face. “Hey none of that now. We know it won’t be tomorrow or next week but we will see each other and we can still talk on the phone and we have that lengthy WhatsApp chat to continue.” Their hug was tight and long, Richard kissing her cheek as they let go. “No more sad. It’s your birthday.”

“That was on Wednesday.”

“Robyn!” Richard chuckled glad to see her smile. “You two enjoy the rest of the weekend and tonight.”

Robyn’s smile grew. “You know what he has planned, don’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Robyn looked to Taron who stood with an adorable smirk on his face. “You told Richard?”

“Robyn, I have pretty much told everyone except you and it’s not that long until you find out and you loved this surprise, I am more than sure you will love the next one.”

“Is it sitting on your couch watching movies?”

Taron’s smirk grew. “So impatient.”

A black car pulled up alongside them, Anthony stepping out. “Richard, long time so see.” He stepped forward to shake the Scotsman hand.

“Seriously? Richard too?” Robyn looked to Anthony.

“Sorry Miss Quinn.” Anthony apologised.

Taron and Robyn stood for another five minutes having a conversation with Richard at the entrance to the hotel and after one more hug and goodbye, they slid into the back of the car and gave Richard one last wave as they headed back towards Taron’s flat.


	5. “Feelings are never stupid, they just make us feel stupid sometimes.”

A tired yawn filled Taron’s whole body as he sat in the back of the car, his arms stretching over his head. “Way too much food.”

“Afternoon tea is great but surprisingly filling.” Robyn agreed feeling her own yawn coming through but she covered it well, looking to the two white boxes in her hands. “Richard should have kept his treats though. We really don’t need them all. I mean we have a birthday cake in your fridge too.”

“You can never have too much cake.”

Robyn chuckled as she looked to Taron as he rested his head on the back of the seat, his eyes closed, his hands over his stomach. “Oh really? Does your body currently agree with that statement?”

“At the minute no, but usually very much so.” He opened his eyes to look at her. “So you liked your surprise?”

“Loved it. Thank you for a lovely afternoon and the company too.”

“That was all Richard really. He wanted to give you a nice birthday present.”

“It was the perfect gift. We finally got to sit down and chat and properly chat. It was long overdue.”

“It really was.”

“And probably good timing too considering how close that year mark is getting.”

Taron nodded and then tuned in his seat to face her. “And don’t think I missed it when you said you were having the bad dreams again. I thought we had worked to stop them.”

“And we did.” She faced him too. “Back in September. It is now May and creeping closer to August and as we said at the table, memories still linger.”

“You losing sleep?”

Robyn shook her head. “No just waking in the night.” She felt a warm hand slip into hers. “You don’t have to worry.”

“I always worry about you even more so when you are dreaming about me.”

“Maybe I am dreaming about Richard.” She countered ignoring Taron’s frown. “It’s just a bad dream Taron.”

“About me.”

She took his hand in both of hers. “I know where you are if I need to call you.”

“Any time and even if I don’t get the call immediately, I will always call you back as soon as I can but being in the same time zone, means when you are asleep, I am asleep and you can call me during the night and I will answer.”

“Because I am really going to disturb your precious sleep.”

“Robyn…” His tone had a warning to it.

“I will call you.”

His face softened but only a little. “You don’t have to take the burden of them alone Robyn. I am right here.”

“I know that.”

“Then you will call me as seeing as how the dreams are about me, I have every right to know about them. Don’t start hiding from me after all this time. I am right here.” He said again.

Moving towards him, Robyn gave Taron a hug. “Thank you.”

“Don’t squish our cakes!”

Robyn dropped her arms from around him and moved the two boxes to the behind her and then hugged Taron again. “Cakes are safe.”

“And you are welcome.”

The journey back to his flat was quick and quiet as the two sat shoulder to shoulder only moving when Anthony opened the car door to let them both out.

“I will be back at seven Taron.”

“That would be great, thank you Anthony.”

The driver turned to Robyn who looked at him with a half-smile. “Robyn.”

Her smile grew and she chuckled a little looking at the boxes in her hands. “Here.” She handed him the one she knew had the collection of cakes from her and Taron’s plate. “Take these with you. I don’t know if they would be quite up to Elton’s taste so you have them as you drive back to his.”

“Miss Qui… Robyn, I can’t take your box of cakes from the Savoy.”

“You are not taking them. I am giving them to you. We couldn’t eat them. There was so much on our plates. Please take them.” She handed them to him. “Please.”

Anthony took the box with two hands. “Thank you Robyn. That’s very kind.” He looked to Taron. “So seven?”

“Please.”

“See you then.”

They waited for Anthony to drive off before they walked the few footsteps to the keypad on the wall, Taron punching the code in. As the gates opened, the strolled in once there was enough space.

“You gave my cakes away.” Taron said a little sadly as the fell in step together.

Robyn looked to him with a smile. “Your cakes?”

“Yeah to Anthony. I was going to eat them later.”

Her smile grew a little more, watching as Ben gave them a wave from his security box. She looked to the box in her hands and started to filter left to where Ben was in his hut.

“Robyn…” Taron’s voice had a slight warning but still sounded playful as she reached the open door of the small security building.

“Miss Quinn.”

“Hello Ben.”

“How can I help you?”

“I wanted to give these to you.” She handed over the box which Richard had given her with his left-over cakes. “We went for afternoon tea but couldn’t quite finish everything and seeing as how we have a full birthday cake waiting for us upstairs, I thought you might enjoy them. There are some nice pastries inside.”

“Well thank you.” Ben said a little taken back by her kind gesture, taking the white box from her hands. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

“Well thank you again.”

“No problem.” Turning, she made her way back to Taron who looked woefully sad. “What’s up?” She asked.

“You gave away all my little cakes.”

Robyn stopped walking, Taron stopping a few steps ahead. “You are sad because I gave the little cakes away?”

“Yeah.” He replied quietly.

“Taron.” Robyn rolled her eyes. “You’ve just had a plate of little cakes, which by the way you couldn’t finish and it’s nice to share.”

“But they were my cakes.”

Shaking her head, Robyn stepped up to him and linked her right arm with his left and made him walk. “You got to taste all the cakes at the Savoy and we have a full birthday cake to eat.” She heard him mutter something and couldn’t help but smile at his childish antics. “And look at how happy Anthony and Ben were with the boxes. They probably don’t get little cakes or any size cakes very often.”

“Yeah I suppose.” Taron kicked a stone across the footpath.

“You are a tosspot, you know that right?”

“I still have no idea what that is.”

Robyn pulled him closer to her. “How about I make it up to you with a scratchy head massage?”

Their pace suddenly increased and they reached the door to the apartment complex in no time, Taron pulling the door open for her and taking her hand, power walked them to the lifts.

“So not so worried about the cakes anymore?” She chuckled as she could see him bouncing on his feet as they waited for the lift.

“What cakes? I only know about my upcoming head massage.”

Robyn chuckled as the lift doors open and she was nearly pushed in by him as he pressed the number five button before he was in the lift himself.

“Someone is excited.”

“I haven’t had one in so long!”

“You liar. You got one in the spa.”

“You know I will take any kind of massage but you have two good working hands now.”

“And what if I turn around and say that because it is my birthday, I demand a head massage.”

Taron looked to her with a laugh. “Oh don’t even try to pull that one on me. You and me both know you don’t like massages. Having your hair played with sure but a massage? No.” Robyn chuckled as his giddiness. “And with my hair shorter? Heaven.”

“Men are so easily pleased.”

“You have no idea.” Taron agreed walking out of the lift door once it opened on the fifth floor, pulling Robyn along behind him. “No idea at all.”

“Want to enlighten me?”

Taron shook his head laughing a little. “Only if you explain the workings of a woman to me.”

“I am afraid I can’t really do that.”

“Well then, I must keep the secret oath of men a secret still.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s just that I don’t know of them. I am a pretty easy-going girl. I don’t normally go for all that girl shit.” They reached Taron’s door. “Or I don’t have the patience for it either.” Taron looked to her with a grin. “What?”

“You know those Irish womanly powers I talk about?” He asked her as he unlocked the door. “You know how to use them and use them well.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Exactly Robyn. Exactly.”

Standing confused at the door, Robyn watched Taron take his coat off and hang it up in his closet, then turning to her to take her coat too which she was still wearing.

“Come on Robyn! A scratchy head massage awaits!”

Robyn stepped into his apartment and took her coat off, handing it to Taron who hung it up, slipping it in amongst his own coats and then closed the closet door. He literally skipped into the living room, dropping himself onto the couch, laying down with his head on a cushion in the corner. Robyn followed him and stood in front of the coffee table watching him as he moved his body to be completely comfortable, his hands folding over his stomach.

“Am I ok to go the bathroom first?” She asked jokingly.

“You have two minutes.”

“Gee thanks.”

Robyn walked around the coffee table and towards the bathroom stopping to pick up a cushion at the edge of his feet and with a hard throw, aimed it for his face, quickly walking towards the bathroom, a surprised yell coming from Taron at the unexpected cushion in his face.

“Robyn!”

She quickened her pace and closed the bathroom door before a pillow could come her way but she heard his laughter behind the door.

“You have to come out of there sometime.”

Robyn chuckled to herself and was still feeling a little mischievous as she washed her hands. Looking in the mirror, she smiled at her reflection. For a long time after her devastating break up with Keith, she always saw a sadness in her eyes and an almost permanent frown on her face but now, she only saw happiness on her face and she couldn’t stop smiling. One man had somehow managed to turn her whole perspective on things around, to make her feel again, to love things she hated about herself, to love full stop. Running her hands through her hair and wiping some smudged eyeliner from under her right eye, Robyn moved to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening to any sounds she should be wary of. On hearing nothing but silence, Robyn very carefully opened the door.

“Taron?”

“Back on the couch.”

“You’re not throwing your voice, are you?”

“Nope. On the couch. I am letting you off because it’s your birthday.”

Robyn pulled the door back and stuck her head out, Taron sitting as he said he was on the couch, the television on. She walked back over and around the couch, sitting down on his left.

“Sorry about the cushion.”

“It is ok. Sorry for pushing the head massage.”

Robyn gave his shoulder a nudge. “Never apologise for enjoying the good things in life. So to save us a rush in getting ready for our second activity of the day, wanna give me a timeline of some sorts? Anthony is coming back at seven?”

“Yep. Seven.”

Robyn lifted his arm to check his watch. “Ok so it is just after four. I say sitting till half five and then a move to get ready.”

“Yeah I am already ready.” The second nudge was harder and Taron took to laughing as Robyn dropped his arm.

“Please tell me there is an outfit change for you too. You were the one who told me to bring two, with one being more fancy than the other.”

Still laughing Taron nodded. “I have an outfit change too.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Robyn you won’t need an hour and half to get ready. You are always so quick.”

“Getting fancier in dress involves more time.”

“Well whatever you need then chicken.”

“Just so it is not so rushed.” She turned a little towards him. “So you ready for your head massage now?”

Taron shook his head. “It’s your birthday. Come here to me.” He opened his arms to her and saw her hesitation. “Just get over here.” Seeing her still unsure of his request, he draped his left arm around her shoulders. “You refusing a cuddle?”

“I am just worried I am going to end up with a pillow smashed against my face.”

“I am not going to do that. I promise. I just want to give you a birthday cuddle.”

Still a bit wary, Robyn gently eased herself against Taron’s left side, feeling him wrap his arm a little tighter around her.

“I am not going to do anything Robyn.” Taron repeated. “Not even a tickle in sight. I just want a cuddle.”

Still not quite sure that his intentions were as honourable as he made them out to be, Robyn laid her head on his shoulder but kept her hands against her own body, her left leg crossing over her right knee as she leaned against his warm body.

“Still don’t trust me?” He chuckled immediately noticing that she didn’t wrap her arm around his waist as she always would. “I promise I am not going to tickle you or throw a cushion at you. At most I might just play with your hair a little, maybe run circles over your shoulder. A kiss or two on your head.” After his words he placed a light delicate kiss on her forehead. “Just nice little things.” He used his right hand to brush her loose hair away from her face. “Same little things you always do for me. It’s your turn now.”

The smile filled her face quickly and she leaned her weight a little more into him before she changed her position completely and moved her whole body so her head was on his lap, her legs curled up, her two hands tucked under her chin as she got settled on her right side on the couch. She laughed when she heard the deep chuckles coming from above her and her smile grew when she felt one of his hands go straight into her hair. Closing her eyes, she lifted her head so Taron could gather her hair from behind her shoulder and then snuggled back into his lap. Just the simple movement of Taron brushing his fingers through her hair made her whole body relax.

“And you think I cave too easily?” Taron ran his hand the whole length of Robyn’s hair again. “Hunni, you just gave in with no questions asked.”

Robyn moved her head back into Taron’s hand as his fingers deeply scratched the crown of her head, a happy sigh leaving her lips. “I am slowly beginning to understand why you love this so much.”

“You’re not going to give me another one are you? Not when finally see why I love them.”

“We can take turns.” Robyn whispered.

As Taron lifted his other hand to slip through her soft hair, he felt the deep breath she took. “You believe that I kept my promise now? No tickling, no cushions.” Her simple nod against his legs only encouraged him to continue the gentle kneading of her head. Keeping his movements light, Taron didn’t want increase the pressure he was using. Robyn knew exactly how to massage his head, which spots to work a little harder than others but he was still getting to know the workings of the woman in his arms, so settled for simply playing with her hair, letting his fingertips scratch her scalp every now again.

After ten minutes, Robyn could feel a nice hazy sleep filling her, so comfortable warm against Taron’s body, thoroughly enjoying the unexpected treat from him. “I need you to wake me at half four.”

“You going for a nap?”

“Yes.”

Taron smiled at her frank and honest answer. “And what if I want a nap?” He asked her and watched as she pulled her phone from her left jeans pocket, setting an alarm, moving it to the coffee table. “And problem solved. Just a little nap.”

“Nap away. I guess all the excitement has been just too much for you.” He chuckled as she lightly slapped his thigh. “Sleep Robyn.”

It didn’t take her long at all to fall asleep and Taron felt her body relax against his. His left hand moved to her waist while his right smoothed her hair away from her forehead. It had been a while since he had had the chance to return the nap favour to her and he happily let her sleep. She wasn’t one for a nap unless she very tired and Taron didn’t think she was that tired at all this weekend, her energy levels on their normal bubbly high but thinking maybe it was a full stomach of food and his warmth that he knew she always appreciated, just sent her off to sleep. He didn’t mind in the least, especially when she moved in her sleep and her head nestled back against his stomach, her left hand moving in front of her face, resting on his right thigh, the sweetest sleepy sounds coming from her lips.

Getting his chance to watch her for a change, ignoring the fact he had done so already during the night, Taron continued to gently run his left hand through her hair, noticing the length had grown a lot again since he had the opportunity to have her in his arms like this, his eyes noticing the little difference in colour at her roots, figuring Robyn hadn’t gone to get her hair done since he has asked Stella to do it for her but he didn’t mind. He liked that she wasn’t bothered too much by being so perfect or a girly girl as she liked to call it. However, as his left hand ran up and down her side, he could definitely feel that a woman lay in his arms and once again Taron was taking a little advantage of Robyn sleeping. He bit his lower lip and felt his whole upper body rise and fall with the deep breath he took. Moving his left hand to her hair and as his fingers brushed through soft silky strands, he was running over the bare skin of her left shoulder too. He gathered her hair and pulled it back so he could see her shoulder and with the design of her top, the upper part of her shoulders and neck were bare and his eyes searched for the small scar he knew was etched on the skin of her left shoulder from Florida. Not seeing it, he pulled at the lace of her black top very lightly with his right hand and as the mark on her skin came into view, let the index finger of his left-hand trace over the blemish, the mark the remaining evidence from when she stood up for him without fear, paying the price with a nasty wound after being pushed into a glass shelf. The memory of his own panic of Robyn leaving him for those ten minutes, coming back to him bleeding, filled his whole body and he shivered very carefully fixing her top as he took a deep calming breathe, breathing in through his nose and out of his mouth, just as Robyn thought him. Focusing his attention back to her hair, Taron smoothed down the strands on the top of her head before he used his fingers like a comb to brush her hair once more, closing his eyes and trying to clear his thoughts focusing on what he knew was going to be a wonderful evening for the two of them.

He would have let Robyn sleep for as long as she wanted but as the clock on his watch read four twenty-nine, he also knew he had to keep his other promise of waking her, knowing she wanted the time to get ready for their evening activity.

“Robyn?” With a slight shake of her shoulder, Taron immediately felt her stir under his hand and he saw her eyes open, the alarm on her phone sounding just as she woke up from his voice.

Still warm and cosy, Robyn reached over for her phone and tried to swipe the alarm off but missed three times.

“Let me.” Taron took the phone from her and with one flick of left-hand finger, turned the melody of the alarm off. “Good nap?”

Robyn nodded, letting her whole body stretch out, rolling over onto her back, her head and shoulders supported by Taron’s legs, bringing her hands to her face rub her eyes. She groaned when she looked to her index fingers, to see black smudged make up on them. “Ugh no.” Tilting her head back, she used the tips of her index fingers to try and rub any blackness from under her eyes. She had forgotten about her black eye liner and mascara when she went for a nap and knew her eye make was very much smeared under her eyes. She hoped she got it all as she took her hands away from her face. “Girl problems.” She said to Taron who was grinning down at her.

“Can I?” He asked bringing his two hands to her face. With her nod, he placed his hands flat on her cheeks and using his thumbs, very carefully wiped a tiny bit of black away from under her lower lashes. “Done.”

“Thank you.” She couldn’t help the yawn that filled her body and stretched once more. “Thanks for my nap. It was nice.”

“Anytime.”

Lifting her body from his legs, she sat up but stayed tight against his left side. “I need to go and get ready for the evening.”

“You are not going to get very far still sitting on the couch.”

“It’s your fault for being too cuddly and warm.”

“So are you telling me you wanna stay here and cuddle?”

Robyn, while feeling very reluctant to do so, got to her feet quickly, her hands on her hips. “No way. I need to see what on earth calls for a fancy outfit this evening.”

Taron laughed a little. “You could wear your fancy outfit here on the couch.”

“Waste of an outfit.” Robyn said as she walked by him, heading for the bedroom.

“Excuse me?” Taron questioned getting to his knees, his arms leaning on the back of the couch so he could follow her movements with his eyes. “Weren’t you the one who only four weeks ago, insisted on wearing a very fancy ballgown for the whole evening?”

“That’s because my clothes were covered in flour.”

“I do believe you still insisted on wearing it even after we washed your clothes and you only gave in because it wasn’t a dress suited for sleeping in.”

Robyn changed direction and stood in front of him as he knelt on the couch. “Because that dress was not suited for cuddles and we both know you love a good cuddle.” Leaning into him she kissed his forehead. “I am going to go and get ready.”

Turning around again, Robyn finally made it to his bedroom and walked to her case. Pulling it open, she moved her clothes out of the way to reveal a black garment bag which held her dress for the evening. She lifted it out and laid it on the bed, going back to her case for fresh underwear and her bag of hair accessories. While she routed, another yawn filled her body. She had been delightfully comfortable using Taron’s strong legs as a pillow and although she hadn’t planned to have a nap, she was glad of it. She hadn’t lied to him when she told him her dreams were waking her but instead of feeling the need to clean her whole apartment, now she just lay away in her bed, cuddling cwtch with her eyes closed as she tried to go back to sleep. It could take her two hours before her body rested again and she shouldn’t have been surprised by her unexpected nap. It was something she obviously needed and still wondering what Taron had in store for her, not sure he could beat her already enjoyable afternoon tea, the sleep recharged her a little. She reached past her case to pick up the hair comb Tina had given her and once she had everything she needed, wandered into the bathroom but thinking twice, she stuck her head back out the door. “Taron?”

“Yep?”

“Don’t leave it to the last minute to get ready.”

“I won’t Robyn.”

Taron heard the bathroom door shut and the water run for the shower. He knew he had some time before he had to move from the couch to get himself ready and decided it was the perfect time to return the call his missed from his mam the previous day. He got comfy on the couch, kicking his legs up onto the coffee table, his body sinking in the softness and smiled as he heard his mother’s voice.

“Hello love.”

“Hey mam.”

“So, you managed to tear yourself away from Robyn then to call your mother back!”

“She’s in the shower.”

Tina laughed. “So you didn’t even try to tear yourself away. It was Robyn’s own personal needs.”

“She is getting ready for this evening.”

“Hmm sure.”

“So what did you and Robyn talk about yesterday when I was sleeping?” He asked.

“Mostly you.” Tina said, knowing well how her son was going to react to the words, enjoying the groan that came from his lips. “So easy to wind you up love and we barely spoke about you. A brief chat about how you were and then Mari tried to guilt Robyn into coming to her birthday in June.”

“I heard.”

“How are you Taron?”

“I am good mam.”

“I mean before Robyn arrived.”

He heard the worry in her voice. “It’s been hard but I knew it would be.”

“Hard Taron? Robyn told me you had to get a few things off your chest. Got a new haircut, dealing with very emotional scenes?”

Taron knew Robyn hadn’t told him everything about when she had spoken to his mam yesterday and that worry in her voice very quickly turned to concern. “The haircut was for a scene and I knew the script was going to be emotionally demanding but it’s been so draining saying my lines and staying in character, trying not to bring the day home with me. I just got very overwhelmed yesterday, brought too much of my anxiety home with me.”

“Oh Taron, please tell me you didn’t take your frustrations out on Robyn? And on her birthday weekend?” Tina heard her son go very quiet. “Taron…”

“She just held me mam. After I stormed out of the kitchen, she followed me and just held me and with barely a word, except a few of comfort, I just let everything out and in her usual and typical supportive Robyn way, made me feel better, helped me understand, let me talk and just eased my mind.”

“Taron, love, maybe you need to pull Matthew aside to have a chat with him. This movie is so different from any other you have done and seems to really be testing you in every way possible.”

“Mam the support on set is fantastic.”

“Maybe turn to it a bit more Taron? Don’t let your emotions fuel your hurt and anger when Robyn is around.”

Taron’s chin hit his chest as he listened to his mother’s kind words which also had a little hint of warning behind them. “I know, I know. I never mean too and she just brings me back down from my emotional high with a hug and some kind words.”

“Why does she always seem to be around when you need her most.”

Taron smiled. “She just had this sixth sense of knowing I guess.”

“Please use the support on set Taron. It is only a month in, with many more to follow and we both know the script does not get any easier. You can always call your family too and Robyn is always willing to listen to you no matter what.”

Taron nodded and when he remembered his mam couldn’t see him, answered her. “I will.”

Ready to help lift her son’s mood, Tina quickly changed the subject of conversation. “So was Robyn happy to see Richard this afternoon?”

“Ecstatic. Ran across the road and jumped into his arms.” Taron replied, a smile growing on his lips. “We had a really nice time, ate a lot of little cakes, drank a lot of tea and got some more things off all of our chests.”

“Taron…”

“It’s getting close to a year mam and we are all feeling a little…” Taron tried to think of the right word. “Delicate.”

“Taron.” Tina’s voice softened.

“It was the first time we all got to sit down to talk in person and it was good for us to know we are all feeling the same way.” He took a nervous breath. “Robyn is having nightmares again, about me. I have seen first-hand how horrible they are, how upset they make her. I can’t have her losing sleep again mam.”

“Have you asked her about them?”

“Yes and she said they were only dreams, waking her up but if Robyn is doing that thing where she doesn’t tell me everything because she is protecting me, then she isn’t being quite as truthful with me.”

“So now it’s that time in our phone call for me to tell you that I love her.”

Taron chuckled a little but it faded. “You don’t have to tell me that. I know you love her but last time Robyn was just near the breaking point of exhaustion because of the nightmares.”

“Give her the benefit of the doubt Taron. Last time Robyn was a different person and you both are so much more involved with each other now. I think this time around, she will be open with you. Surely you spent last night together? Did she wake?”

“I don’t know. I fell asleep on the couch and when I went to bed, she was already asleep.”

“And asleep peacefully?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok so don’t worry about something that you may not need to worry about just yet. You seem to already have a plate full of worries. Trust her and if you are that concerned just ask her. I think you will find she just might be more open to talking to you than you think.”

“Thanks mam.”

“Now enjoy your night tonight. Have you managed to keep it a secret?”

“Yes. She has no idea.”

Tina smiled. “Well then I shall let you go and get ready and have fun but not too much fun.”

Taron rolled his eyes. “Mam…”

“Just checking love.”

“Nothing has changed.” Taron replied. “And don’t make that face at me. I have already had Richard on my back.”

Tina laughed at his words. “You know I am you and Robyn’s number one supporter and keep that look from your face. I am your mother; I am allowed to embarrass you.”

“Well in that note, I really need to go and get ready.”

“Please look after yourself Taron.”

“I will.”

“And Robyn too.”

“Always.”


	6. “Surprises are all part of life's journey.”

Once he ended the call with his mother, Taron left his phone on the table next to Robyn’s and walked to his bedroom, stopping at the bathroom door to ease drop in on her, grinning to himself as he heard her singing, songs from one of her favourite boy bands filtering through the wooden door. He continued on his way to his room, pulling his tucked shirt from his trousers and off his body completely throwing it on the bed, his white tank top landing beside it. He kicked off one shoe and then the next, padding his way into his bathroom to turn on the shower. He fumbled with his belt as he walked back towards his bed and finally getting it out from his belt hoops, flung the leather belt onto the bed too and slipped out of his trousers, the material in a messy pool on the floor at the side of his bed, leaving him in just his boxers and socks as made his way back into his bathroom. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was still getting used to his shorter hair and now as he thought about how it was cut, it made him shiver. He rolled his neck and heavily sighed. He was so thankful that Robyn’s birthday fell so soon after he started filming because the break was desperately needed, the light heartedness and comfort she gave him really helping to clear his burdened mind.

The shower refreshed the light tiredness he felt and as stood in his en suite, he changed his mind on shaving off his growing stubble, knowing Robyn much preferred his scruffier look. Walking out of the bathroom, a navy towel wrapped around his waist, he made his way to his wardrobe and opened the two doors. He already knew what he was going to wear and took out one of his many plain navy blue suits and a light blue shirt. It was a simple smart outfit and he knew it didn’t match Robyn’s outfit of black jeans and heels which she had asked his opinion of. He very much approved of the red silk V neck blouse and black stripped suit jacket to go with her outfit and it was that simple elegant style he always loved to see her in.

Once dried off, he put on some clean boxers and after a spray of deodorant, slipped into his shirt buttoning it up, leaving the top three buttons open. He took the trousers from the hanger and once on, tucked his shirt in. Back in the bathroom, he brushed his teeth and sprayed more aftershave then was needed, knowing well Robyn liked his particular choice of scent at the moment. He put his watch back on and with the time coming close to six forty-five he decided to see if Robyn was keeping on schedule too.

He walked out of his bedroom and right into Robyn who was walking into his bedroom and his hands went immediately to her waist to grab her and stop her from falling over.

“Shit Robyn!” He exclaimed holding onto her tight, feeling her hands go to his waist, holding onto him just as tight. “Sorry.”

“No worries. I am fine. No harm done.”

Once she had had a quick shower, Robyn picked up the hair comb Tina had given her and re-thought her hair for the evening. She was going to go with a simple sideways plait but with the comb, it gave her an option for an up-style look. Gathering her hair into a mid pony tail, she tied it with a bobbin and then loosened the hair at the crown of her head so it had a little more volume, pulling some loose strands out completely too. In similar fashion to how she did her hair for Elton’s without the plaits, Robyn backcombed sections of her ponytail and pinned them in around the bobbin, creating a low loose twisted bun. It was simple and effective, making it look like a lot of work went into creating the style when it really didn’t. She sprayed her hair with some hairspray then pulling some of the bun a little bit looser before spraying it again. She picked up the beautiful hair comb that Tina have given her, the diamonds sparkling in the lights of the bathroom. Delicate flowers decorated the top of the clip and she very carefully pushed the comb into her hair so it could be seen at the top of the bun in her hair.

She started on her make-up and added a tiny bit of black eye shadow to the corner of each eye just to add a little debt to her chosen natural shadows. A thicker line of black eye liner and a few extra coats of mascara helped to make her eyes stand out even more. A touch of blush was all she needed as she found her cheeks were permanently tinted this weekend and with a brush of bronzer and highlighter, Robyn lightly lined her lips with a pale pink lip pencil and added a coat of rose-coloured lipstick. Simple and quick, it was a subtle look that suited her. She didn’t need or want a full face of make-up, happy to add a bit of colour to her face for her night out.

She turned to the garment bag that was hung on the door. Taron had no idea she had changed her outfit and as she pulled down the zipper, the royal blue skirt of the dress was striking in colour. She took the dress from the hanger and turned around to the mirror holding the dress in front of her towel clad body. The top part of the dress was sleeveless and white with blue climbing flowers the same colour as the skirt and it had a fitted waistband before the skirt flowed a little out and down to above her knee. She was excited to put on the dress, see Taron’s reaction, wondering which suit he had picked to wear, whether he would favour a plain or a patterned one.

Once dressed, Robyn spritzed her perfume and then put the bracelet Taron had given her back onto her wrist. She changed out all of her lobe piercings for diamond ones and grinned at her appearance. She was getting used to dressing up every month and though would always favour jeans and a pair of converse, she loved getting the chance to be a bit more girly and have someone actually appreciate the effort she made. Knowing all she needed were her heels and a shawl she had left in her case, she opened the bathroom door and made her way towards Taron’s room, literally running into the Welshman as he came out of his bedroom, his hands going straight around her waist to stop her from falling, her hands going around him immediately. She accepted his apology with a smile.

Taron stepped back and did a double take. “Robyn… You… Wow. Shit sorry no. That’s not what I meant. Well yeah it is but I mean… wow.” Knowing his words were completely tangled in his mouth, Taron titled his head back before looking to her. “Let me start again. You look lovely.”

Robyn smiled a little shyly and took her hands from his waist. “Thank you.”

“You changed your outfit. Where did this dress come from?” Taron was still holding her hands and made Robyn twirl around so he could fully appreciate the perfect dress Robyn wore.

“A dress shop?” She answered him.

“Right ok, I deserved that but why didn’t you wear the jeans and red top?”

“Honestly?” She saw him nod. “I was a little concerned that what I had picked just wasn’t fancy enough for your evening activity. I might have asked Stella for a little help.”

Taron smiled. “You asked Stella?”

“I needed a little bit of fashion guidance.”

“It’s a beautiful dress. Matches your eyes.” He commented.

“And you too it seems.” Robyn took in his wonderfully fitted suit and shirt.

“In my defence, we did not match. You were the one who changed your outfit and didn’t tell me.”

“That is so very true and I won’t hold it against you at all. You look lovely too.” Taron always looked so handsome in a suit and the simple shade of plain blue and matching light coloured shirt was just as striking as when he wore a more embellished one.

“Thank you. Just need to add some shoes but I was coming to check on you, see if you were sticking to your own time limit.”

Robyn nodded. “Just have to get some shoes too.”

They walked back into Taron’s room and while he routed out a pair of blue velvet shoes with gold link detail along the front of the shoe, Robyn pulled out a pair of dark blue heels and a royal blue shawl from her case. She was in her shoes before Taron and checking her clutch bag from their afternoon tea to make sure she had everything she needed, changing her lipstick around to her chosen pink one for the evening.

“You finding a way to avoid wearing my jacket this evening?” Taron came to stand beside her and picked up her shawl from the bed.

Robyn smiled his way. “Not at all. You know it is one of my favourite accessories but you know I get cold so figured it was best to bring something along with me.”

“Always cold.” He agreed. “But you have also always been partial to my jackets.”

“True but then you get cold.” She looked to him as he rose an eyebrow her way. “Yeah alright you are rarely cold.” Robyn took her shawl from him. “It matches my dress and belonged to my granny and I haven’t really ever had a reason to wear it.”

With an understanding smile, Taron stepped forward and gave Robyn hug. “It’s perfect.” He gave her a squeeze. “I like your hair up like this.”

“Thank you. Your mam’s comb was such a thoughtful gift. It’s gorgeous.”

Taron nodded into her shoulder. “It’s the little things right?”

“Right.” She agreed. “So we should probably make a move. Secret plans ahead.”

Taron giggled lightly. “True.” Letting her go, he took a few steps back, fully admiring her whole outfit. He had to admit that of course his favourite outfit, apart from that gorgeously fitted swimming suit, was the simple combination of when she borrowed his boxers and tank top but her blue dress was gorgeous and elegant and that no nonsense style Robyn always went for, a little part of him so very happy that she changed her outfit at the last minute though he couldn’t help but smile as he thought about the fact that it was him who was putting her in the more daring dresses.

“What’s that smile for?”

Her voice broke through his thoughts and he shook his head a little. “Nothing but you are right, we should go.”

Making sure he had his phone and wallet. Robyn picking up her bag and shawl, they once again found them themselves outside the gates of the apartment complex and getting into the car, Anthony in the front seat, bringing them to Taron’s second secret destination of the day.

“You are very quiet.” Taron commented as they sat side by side in the car.

“I know you are not going to tell me anything so I have decided not to even try to pry and just wait.”

Taron’s laugh rumbled deep inside him and he turned a little sideways. “Who are you and what have you done with Robyn?”

She shrugged. “I am still me.”

“Hey you ok?” Taron asked a little worried at how extra quiet she was.

She turned to him and nodded, reaching for his hand. “I am good.”

“You worrying about the surprise?”

“A teeny tiny bit.”

“It’s not red carpet. It is nothing do with my job and there won’t be any press of any kind there and Richard won’t be there either.” He added with a half-smile. “It is better than a Care Bear.”

Robyn light-heartedly bumped her shoulder off his, her face finally lighting up a little. “Nothing is better than a Care Bear!”

“What about a Welshman?”

Robyn followed Taron’s eyes as they searched her whole face while he waited for her answer.

“Welshman with a Care Bear?” He tried.

“Now that I can work with.” Roby laughed a little. “I know whatever you have planned will be wonderful Taron. This weekend so far has been just perfect. I talk about my birthdays as if they were all shit and crap and they weren’t. I went for a lovely dinner with my friends and my mam and I had a girly shopping day but…”

“… A birthday from a male who wasn’t your father or a friend has not been such a good experience.”

Robyn nodded. “You know how much I love musicals. Like I could sit and watch the same show over and over and then sing the soundtrack for weeks after. Annie was the first musical I ever saw as a kid and it came back to Dublin, to the same theatre and I left a few hints around, hoping Keith would cop on.” Robyn felt the grip on her hand increase. “Day of my birthday he told me to dress up and that we were going out. Que excitement overload.”

“Robyn you don’t have to tell me this.” Taron had an idea where her story was going and didn’t want Robyn feeling sad on her birthday.

“Just this one so you get an idea why sometimes I am a little wary of surprises, gifts.” She shuffled closer to him and lifted his left arm so it swung around her shoulders, her fingers playing with his. “Off we went in the car into Dublin, parked near the theatre and you can imagine how chatty I became, overly enthusiastic, trying to get it out of Keith if he had bought tickets for the show. Imagine my confusion when we walked past the theatre and utter perplexity when we headed towards a known dodgy part of town, dark door and basement club and my disgust when the surprise turned out to be a uni-sex strip club with lap dance of both male and female included in the present.” She felt the sharp intake of breath Taron made. “For the record, I have nothing against strip clubs, not my particular cup of tea and look I don’t judge but for someone who I had been dating for six years, for them to get it so wrong, never mind the tickets for the musical, well it says enough doesn’t it.”

“Jesus Robyn. What a fucking prick.”

“So I shouldn’t mention the part where he still went in after I refused too and I ended up getting a bus home?” She felt the tension in his fingers and how they curled up into hers. “It wasn’t long after that everything just fell to shit.” She reached up pull his tense hand over her shoulder down with her two, wrapping his left hand tight into hers. “He wasn’t a great one for surprises before that to be honest or the hints would suggest a nice dinner or maybe even a movie but it would turn out to be a night out at the pub with his mates or a gym class. I wasted a lot of amazing surprises on him.” Robyn lifted Taron’s hand to her lips to give it a lingering kiss. “You know me very well Taron and even in the short time we have known each other, you just have this knack for getting me to open up and I feel I owe you some sort of explanation as to why I can be a little on edge with surprises and I know not all men are like that prick as you called him.”

“Actually I like to call him a fucker.” Taron growled.

“I spent six years with him and sure it’s been over for three years and I don’t know if you noticed but I can hold something that has truly hurt me to my heart and core for a very long time. I suppose when you have only known the self-centred side of surprises, you tend to be a little wary.” She turned to look at Taron’s face, his beautiful features a mix of emotions. “I am trying and you know I trust you and you have only ever been so wonderful and kind to me…”

“…I swear to God Robyn, if I ever meet that fucker, it won’t be only his nose that gets broken.” Taron interrupted her and Robyn moved so she could lean her face into his shoulder. “I promise you this, any surprise I have for you will only ever be something I know you will enjoy or we can enjoy together and for anything we do together where I ask you to come along as my guest for an event, I will always give you enough notice and will never be let down by you of you can’t go or would prefer not to go. In the same way that you always give me the most delicate care and protection, I will always treat you with the same respect that you deserve.” He pulled her right into him, his two hands locking around her waist. “Anything else on your chest?” He asked into her hair. “Want to talk to me about the dreams?”

Robyn moved her left hand inside his jacket and pressed it hard against his chest. “Nowhere near as bad as before.” She moved her face closer to his neck so her forehead was touching warm skin. “It is more so flashes of what happened. Images of you covered in blood. They just wake me up with a fright. I find it hard to go back to sleep. Cwtch has been getting a lot of cuddles lately.”

“Robyn…” The anger and annoyance Taron had been feeling previously were quickly extinguished as guilt and concern flooded him. “You said you weren’t losing sleep.”

“Only an hour or two.”

“Robyn…”

“I am sorry.”

“You don’t need to say sorry. You just need to talk to me about these things.”

“To call you when I wake.”

“Exactly.”

“That video you made me of you singing Tiny Dancer has been a wonderful comfort.”

“Call me and you can have a live performance and none of this shit about me losing sleep. Florida affected us both Robyn and I think maybe you more than you actually want me know. Darling I know how strong you are but with me, it’s ok to ask for a little bit of help when you need it.”

Robyn had heard these words so many times from him and could feel her conscience slapping her hard for not turning to him when she needed too. “Sorry.” She murmured into his warm neck.

“I think sometimes you are out to sabotage yourself.” He cradled her cheek with his right hand, his thumb brushing soft skin. “Please call me Robyn. I am always here for you and only two hours away soon. As much as I would like you to come to me when I need you, I definitely want to come and see you too. I am craving some breakfast hash.” His words made her chuckle and she lightly slapped his chest. “Don’t feel like you are alone, because you are not.”

With no words, Robyn moved to kiss her favourite place on his jaw, snuggling back into his neck, keeping her left hand over his heart, her index finger slipping in behind his shirt. She felt Taron place her hand over hers, his chin lightly leaning on her head. Their close position lasted for only a minute of silence, when Anthony’s voice echoed through to them.

“Taron, we are here.”

Lifting his head from Robyn’s, Taron looked out the window. “Thanks Anthony.”

“Parked a street away too.”

Taron smiled. “Thank you.” He looked to Robyn who although was smiling, still looked confused. “Ready to go?”

“Go where?” She asked, an obvious hint of a joking tone in her voice. “I am still waiting.”

“Two more minutes chicken.”

He stepped out of the car and reached for Robyn’s hand, helping her out too, making sure they were both up on the footpath.

“Taron, just give me a call when the concert is over.”

“Thanks Anthony.”

“Concert?” Robyn asked as Anthony got back in the car. “Bit of a fancy dress for a concert.”

Taron only smiled and held his hand out for her to take. “We just have a small walk to make first.”

“To a concert?”

Taron gave her hand a pull. “Yes to a concert Robyn.”

Happy with his answer, Robyn stepped in line with him and let him lead her to the secret destination.

“No questions?” He asked as they mixed in with the other people on the footpath.

“Nope.” She gently swung their hands between them. “I trust you.”

“Any idea where you are?” He asked enjoying the playfulness of their swinging hands.

“A little.”

“Big red round building gives it away right?”

“Just a little.”

When Robyn got out of the car, she saw the very recognisable dome building of the Royal Albert Hall and she could feel her excitement building of what concert he could be taking her too. They rounded the corner; the crowd thickening and Robyn moved a little closer to him as they walked up the stone steps towards the glass entrance of the concert hall. She stopped mid-step as she looked up to the poster to see what Taron’s big secret was and her hand slipped from his as he continued to walk, only realising she had stopped when he felt the heat of her hand leave his.

“Robyn?” Taron quickly stepped down beside her. “Robyn!” He placed his hands on her shoulders, seeing her whole face freeze, her eyes staring past her head. “Robyn!” On the third call of her name, her saw her eyes slowly move to meet his. “Are you ok? You just stopped.”

“Taron…” She took in his troubled green eyes and placed her hands on his on her shoulders. “How… How did you get tickets for this?” She asked. “They sold out in minutes. I took a half day off work to try and get them but the whole website crashed and when I eventually got back in, all the tickets were gone and don’t tell you tell me that you are The Taron Egerton!” She added quickly when he went to answer her. “These tickets were reselling at ridiculous prices and as much I desperately wanted to come, I could never afford the tickets.”

The white poster with Ludovico Einaudi sitting at a black grand piano covered the half circle window at the entrance to the Royal Albert Hall, the words for one night only were in large bold letters underneath the photograph. The tickets went on sale after Christmas before Robyn had ever met Taron and she was so disappointed to have missed out on getting them and tried every resale ticket website to get even one at a decent price but with the tickets selling for hundreds of pounds, never mind euros, she had no hope of getting one. The date had never even clicked with her until she saw the poster.

“I didn’t use my name to get them Robyn. I promise.” He moved to stand beside her and linked his left arm with her right around her elbow and guided her up the steps. “Lyndsey used hers.” He felt her stop again. “And keep walking please.” He was glad to feel her move again. “Sometimes tickets are offered for concerts like this to my management team as the date gets closer and those more expensive tickets are not sold. Lyndsey knows you play piano and like classical music and asked if it was something I would like to take you to and it just so happened that it fell on the perfect weekend.” As Taron spoke, they joined the small queue to enter the building. “I know he is your favourite composer and you love to play his compositions, that his music is very special to you.”

“Good evening.” The steward at the door greeted them and Taron pulled two white tickets from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed them over, the man in the red jacket scanning the barcode and giving them back to Taron. “Enjoy your evening. If you need any help, there are many stewards inside in a red waistcoat or jacket who can help you.”

“Thank you.” Taron took Robyn’s hand and they walked into the glass atrium and then through another set of double doors into a hallway with a red tiled floor with black diamonds and green and cream walls. Still holding her hand, Taron led her through another glass set of doors and into a beautiful long hallway which had an obvious circular shape, a beige tiled floor now under their feet. He continued to walk with her down the corridor, Robyn’s heels lightly clip clopping as they walked and finding the door with the sign ‘quiet room’, Taron opened the door and peered inside. Relieved to see it was empty, he pushed the door open fully and stood back to let Robyn walk in. He followed her and made sure the door was closed after him, coming to then stand right in front of her.

“So if you would like to go into one of those rants where your sentences merge into each other and I have to stop you talking a mile a minute by hugging you, now would be a great time because your silence is scaring me a little.”

Robyn took two steps to close the space between them and threw her arms around his waist gripping him tight against her, feeling Taron let go of the sigh he held inside, his arms encircling her too, his head fitting into her shoulder, his face turned into her neck.

“Had me worried there for a minute.” He whispered.

Robyn wished there was a way to hold Taron closer, to hug him tighter but she was already squeezing him pretty tight, her hands flat against his upper back. She had tears in her eyes and her heart was thumbing so fast in her chest and she found her hands physically gripping Taron’s jacket to stop them from shaking.

“Robyn?”

“Two minutes.”

Robyn was completely overwhelmed once again by Taron’s thoughtfulness, by how he listened to her, how he found the most wonderful gifts for her, surprised her in the most amazing ways and her heart was ready to burst with love for him. She was very much comforted by his hands rubbing her back in gentle circles and tried to compose herself against his shoulder.

“Two minutes is up chicken.” He felt Robyn let him go and as she moved back from him, she placed her two hands on his face and kissed both cheeks, the tip of his nose and then his forehead, his cheeks hurting from the grin on his face.

“Thank you.” Robyn kissed his forehead once more. “Thank you so much. Taron I don’t think I have any words for you.”

“You are going to say something though right?”

“Shut up.” Robyn moved to give Taron another squeeze. “Thank you so much for this. It is the best present ever.”

“Better than the Care Bear?” He asked in her ear.

Robyn chuckled at his words. “Possibly.”

“Better than a Welshman with a Care Bear?” He tried.

“Never.” Robyn answered quickly. She moved back from him but took his hands. “Thank you. Taron this is just so wonderful and I think my faith is being restored to the idea of surprises. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“I might have a little inkling.” He laughed.

“And you will have to thank Lyndsey from me too.”

Taron nodded. “It’s a joint gift.”

“I like this joint gift thing you have going today.” Robyn grinned.

“And I have been benefitting from it too though should I be worried that you are going to go and jump onto the stage to hug the composer?”

“You still can’t say his name, can you?”

“Still struggling.”

“And I won’t jump the stage.” Robyn let go of his right hand but kept a grip of his left. “Thank you Taron, so much for this.”

“You are so very welcome. Happy Birthday.” Taron turned to the door. “You want to go and find our seats?”

“Please.”

Taron pushed open the door and let Robyn out first, following her and taking her hand again.

“Have you been here before?” He asked.

“Never. I have seen the outside but never been inside.”

“It’s a cool place. I have been to a few events here, a concert or two.” He stopped outside a lift. “Our seats are on the grand tier.”

“Should I even ask?” Robyn gave him a sideways glance.

“Best not too.”

As they waited for the lift, a few more people stood with them and Robyn could hear the whispers behind and around her, her and Taron’s name coming to her ears and she moved closer to him, letting go of his hand and linking her arm with his, her left hand resting on his upper arm. Once the doors opened, they let those in the lift out first, before they stepped in, Robyn and Taron moving right to the back of the lift to let the others in, but also giving those who were whispering the chance to have a good nose at them. Robyn felt Taron’s hand on hers and they both smiled at those who looked their way.

“Good evening.” Taron politely said.

“Evening.” Came a reply from one couple.

As the lift moved to reach their floor, Robyn automatically leaned her head onto Taron’s shoulder, smiling as he kissed her hair, her eyes closing for a moment, opening when she heard the lift ding with their arrival on their floor. Exiting the lift last, Robyn let Taron lead the way once again,

“Box thirty-nine.” He said to her as they followed the clearly marked signs along the wall, stopping as they came to the door of box thirty-nine.

“Good evening sir.” Another smartly dressed steward met them. “Can I see your tickets please?”

Taron gently took his arm from Robyn’s and took the two tickets from the inside pocket of his suit jacket again and handed them over, the steward looking at them carefully. “Perfect. Mr Egerton you and your guest are seated in number one and number two which are the two seats at the very front left of the balcony.” The steward handed the tickets back to Taron. “If you need anything, please don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Thank you.”

Reaching for Robyn’s hand once more, Taron walked in through the door. They were met by another staff member who stood beside a table with a black silk tablecloth, various sized glasses on the table, several bottles of alcohol sitting ready to be opened for the guests of the box.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” The waiter asked.

Taron looked to Robyn, waiting for her to decide if she wanted a drink or not and understood her look. “I think we will take our seats first and get settled and then choose a drink.”

“No problem at all sir.”

He knew Robyn agreed with his decision, when he felt her give his hand a squeeze and Taron guided Robyn past the tied back red curtains and down three steps to the very front of the box. He stood back to let Robyn take the inside seat, while he sat down on the aisle one, keeping Robyn on his left. For the moment they were the only ones in the box. Taron had wanted to arrive a little earlier then needed because he knew that Robyn would be very much surprised by her last gift of the day and as he had expected, she was completely taken aback by their trip to the Royal Albert Hall and their evening’s entertainment. When she had told him that she had tried to get tickets but couldn’t, he was even more excited to be able to share the tickets that Lyndsey had gotten for him with Robyn. He had seen how the music of the Italian composer calmed Robyn, how she became immersed in the music herself when she played it and as he saw her, eyes open wide staring at the stage, he knew he had given her something so very special and was so glad to have been the one to do so and perhaps the only man who had ever spoilt her with gifts straight from their heart.

“It is probably not very appropriate to curse in here, right?” She moved her head to whisper to him, hearing him laugh, watching as he opened the buttons of his suit jacket.

“No Robyn but go for it. It’s your birthday.”

She smiled at him, shaking her head. “This is insane. Look at that view.” From where they sat, they had the most perfect view of the stage, sitting to the right. There was one glistening black grand piano set in the middle of the stage and with the angle of their seats, Robyn would be able to see the pianist back but most importantly his hands as he played. Behind the piano, a full seated orchestra were set up and with their height, every talented musician could be seen once they took to the stage.

“It’s pretty great.” He felt the stare he was given and turned to Robyn. “It is a most perfect view Robyn. You will be able to see everything. Just please don’t fall over the balcony as you try to get closer.”

Robyn chuckled a little. “Just give me a pull if I get too far over.” She sat back in her seat. “Also, good call for the fancy fancy outfits.” She smoothed the skirt of her dress down a little. “I am glad I made the change. The box is ridiculous.”

Taron chuckled. “Let me guess you have never been in a box before.”

Robyn smiled him. “Once as a child at Annie in Dublin.”

“Fancy?”

“Not as much as this. Drinks reception?” She asked him turning her head a little so her right eye could glimpse at the waiter at the top of the box waiting to serve the guests.

“Just the norm for this particular tier section.” He explained.

“The box in Dublin was a private box though.” Robyn said turning back into her seat, crossing her left leg over her right, leaving towards Taron a small bit. “Just me and my parents.”

Taron leaned into her, his body shaking as he laughed. “Wow Robyn! Some high expectations there!”

“Well ya know when you get used to the finer things in life, sharing just seems so common.”

Fully laughing as her words, Taron slipped his left arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, dipping his head to kiss her cheek. “You tosspot.” He said as he took his lips away from her cheek.

“And you finally got the use of the word right.”

They both laughed and Robyn reached over to take his right hand as it rested on his lap. “I have said it so many times but thank you. You always say that you will never be able to repay me for what I did for you but let me tell you something. We are so very much quits now. In fact, I think after tonight, you may even have a few extra more brownie points on your side.”

“We will agree to disagree there chicken.” Taron lifted her hand and not for the first time that day, placed it over his heart. “This disagrees.”

Robyn could feel the strong and steady beat of Taron’s heart under her hand and she nodded, taking in a deep breath. Feeling overly emotional, tears once again forming in the corner of her eyes, she swallowed them down. “So, before this gets started, I think I am going to nip to the bathroom and before you ask, no you cannot and are not coming. I am a big girl and can pee all by myself.” She handed him her shawl. “I will be right back.” Very reluctantly, Taron took her blue shawl from her and watched as she stood up, stepping past him. “Why don’t you get us something to drink?” She suggested to him as she walked out into the aisle, placing her hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “I will be right back.”


	7. “But they say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true.”

He turned his head to follow her as she left the box and then sank into his chair. Every instinct inside him told him to follow her, to not let go her go alone but their evening was so very different to the last one they had together and with his privacy a bit more in secret at the Royal Albert Hall compared to his own movie premier, he knew Robyn would be fine, mingling in the with crowd. He pulled his phone from his pocket, wanting to give his mam a quick text and as he was typing up a quick few words, his phone vibrated in his hands as a message came through. His face turned to a smile when he saw a text from Robyn, a picture in their WhatsApp conversation.

“No line, here is the cubicle door. All locked.”

His worries lifted as did his lips and he was still typing in his reply when another picture came through.

“All done, just topping up the lippy.”

The photo of her reflection in the mirror, pouting his way made him chuckle and he finished his reply, sending it onto her. He finally sent the quick text to him mam, a second to Richard and then got to his feet, making his way to the table where the waiter greeted him with a smile.

“Two glasses of champagne please.”

“Of course sir.”

With pristine, well-rehearsed and steady movements, the waiter popped a bottle of champagne and poured two crystal clear glasses with the bubbly alcohol and handed them to Taron.

“Thank you.” He said as he took them and made his way back to his seats and just as he sat down, he felt that calming hand on his shoulder and Robyn slipped in past him.

“See? Safe and sound.”

“For you.” Taron handed her the glass. “And thanks for the bathroom commentary.”

“You are welcome. Thought you would like it.”

“Might have to borrow that shade of lipstick from you.” He took a sip from his glass.

“Anytime you want.” She replied after taking a little drink from her own glass. As Robyn took another sip her eyes looked up the ceiling and slowly she brought her glass back down to her lap, while her gaze continued to stare above her. Round white discs decorated the ceiling, hanging down in no particular neat order but making a statement all the same, a light red hue glowing behind them.

“They are sound discs. Helps the even distribution of sound throughout the whole theatre so no matter where you are sitting you have the most perfect audio. Any type of event. A concert, movie or theatrical performance, every seat has the same experience of sound.” Taron explained.

“Pretty cool.”

“Yep.” Taron drained the last of his drink. “I am going to get some water. Would you like anything?”

“Water would be great.” Robyn drank down her champagne in one go and handed him the glass after he had gotten to his feet.

While Taron went to get them something else to drink, Robyn took her phone from her bag and wasn’t surprised to see a text from Claire. Opening the message, she rolled her eyes and quickly replied with a vague answer, knowing her friend was going to hate the reply. Taron came back to his seat as Claire replied with a swear word and angry emoji and Robyn chuckled to herself as she felt Taron settle beside her.

“Claire?” He asked, so glad to see her face in genuine smile, handing over a cold bottle of water to her. Taron was happy to stop after one alcoholic drink knowing he had to go back to a demanding script on Monday and a lingering hangover from drinking too much bubbly would not help his already overwhelming pressure on set.

“Yup. Giving her as little information as possible.” Robyn took her water from him and placed it on the floor beside her bag.

“You are terrible.” Taron opened his bottle of water and took a long drink. “How are her and Nick getting on?” He asked as he screwed the lid back on the top.

“Like a house on fire. Claire has been asking for your number to thank you for talking to him, helping Nick to make the first move.”

“I do believe it was your little dare that helped him make the first move.”

Robyn chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“They wouldn’t have kissed if you hadn’t of kissed me.” He said, his voice a little quiet. “Get your forfeit from her yet?”

Hearing his quick change of subject from their kiss, Robyn followed his lead. “Nope not yet. I am still trying to come up with a good one. I fully intend to make it a good one.”

“Can I be around when you do?”

“I am sure that can definitely be arranged.” Robyn agreed. “Maybe you can help me think of something.” She could see his right arm resting on the arm rest between them and lay her left arm around his, linking their fingers, his hand warm and comforting in hers. “Thank you for not getting mad at me for breaking my promise of asking you for help.” She whispered very quietly to him, her voice cracking a little. “I am trying to be better.”

Feeling his heart ache, a shiver run through him, Taron squeezed her hand. “You have nothing to thank me for. It’s what I told you I would do for you and as I have said before, I don’t want you to change.” He leaned his head closer to her so their temples touched. “Just lean on me a bit more.” He moved to kiss her temple and after a second kiss gave her hand another squeeze. “Now no more sadness, I know you are beyond excited for this concert and I want you to enjoy every bit of it.”

“You will enjoy it too?” Robyn asked him. “Not going to fall asleep on me?” She felt so much lighter after Taron was so gentle with her, his words kind.

“I do enjoy all genres of music Robyn and I am looking forward to the concert as much as you are.” He smiled as she turned her head to look at him. “Though I am looking forward to watching you watching him but I have a feeling I am going to be ignored for the next two hours.”

Robyn fully grinned. “And I will apologise now for zoning out on you or trying to get over the balcony, maybe playing out the melodies on the arm rest.” She took her hand from his and tapped her fingers lightly across the back of hand as an example. “I owe you one long cuddle and deep head massage after all of this.”

Taron shook his head. “Not at all. This your birthday present.” His head turned a little as he heard voices behind him, more guests of their shared box making their way to their seats. “But maybe we can share a cuddle later?”

Robyn nodded. “Deal.” She slipped her hand back into his.

“You want my jacket?” He asked her over the hum of the few people moving to sit behind them. “As usual you are a little cold.”

“I have my shawl, thank you.”

He watched as Robyn swung her shawl over her shoulders, pulling it around herself. “Are you always cold?” He asked. “I am genuinely interested.”

“My hands are normally cold but lately I just seem to have an all over chill at times.”

“You are not getting sick are you?”

Robyn shook her head. “Nope.”

“Sitting with your aircon on full blast?”

“Nope. Hands normally cold, rest of me not so much. I was roasting last night.”

“You wore the pyjamas meant for winter. It was a given that you were going to roast.”

“True. You don’t have to be worried Taron. I am in perfect health; I have always had cold hands. A little tired but who isn’t.” She tapped his nose. “Turn that frown upside down.”

Taron couldn’t help but smile at the return of her playful mood. “I call for a lie in tomorrow.”

Robyn nodded. “I am very much in favour of that idea.”

“You are looking after yourself, right?” He asked seeing the lights of the dome starting to dim.

“Are you?” She returned quickly.

“Yes.” He saw her quick turn of her head towards him. “I will go to Matthew to talk to him on Monday.”

“I will call you if a bad dream wakes me.”

With a silent nod as the remainder of the house lights went down, Robyn’s head turned towards the stage and immediately leaned forward as Ludovico Einaudi walked on stage, dressed impeccably in a black suit and white shirt. She got to her feet along with everyone else, clapping loudly, the composer taking a bow twice before he took a seat at the piano. Robyn sat on the edge of her red seat, waiting with baited breath for his hands to touch the keys, to hear the first sound of a note and as simple broken chord was played, her eyes closed and her whole body relaxed to the sound of the music.

Taron watched fascinated as Robyn’s shawl fell from her shoulders as she leaned closer to the balcony her eyes closed, her whole body taken in by the music after only a few notes. He knew he had his favourite artists but for Robyn it was as if she was completely lost in the music within seconds and he smiled as she moved even closer to the balcony so she could fold her arms over the red felted barrier and leaned her chin on her hands, completely captivated by the piano sounds. A part of him could feel her pull away from him but he inwardly scolded himself for suddenly feeling jealous of a man playing piano. Taron had seen her Spotify playlist, scrolled through her music on her phone and knew it was more than just music to her. It was an escape from a reality she had a hard time dealing with and seeing the way she became so engrossed in the music as she played it, understood the importance of something as simple as the piano music he could hear. Instead, he leaned forward to place a hand on her back, letting her knew he was there and she turned her head to give him a smile before taking up her previous position of leaning on the barrier mesmerised by the composer on stage.

As the soothing sounds of Le Onde played through the theatre, Robyn’s face broke into a smile, her right hand automatically playing the notes on the balcony in time with the ones she heard. One of her favourites and first composition of his she had learnt to play, it was beautiful and stunning live. Her view was terrific and only as the man sat at the piano could see really appreciate the expensive box she sat in. The piano was positioned more sideways than she had first thought and Robyn could not only see the keys but also his hands as he played and she was fascinated by the smoothness and faultlessness of his playing, not one mistake or hesitation to be heard. She knew she had moved away from Taron but she couldn’t help herself and needed to get as close as she could, to fully watch and take in the beautiful music and playing in front of her.

Clapping hard, along with the rest of the audience, after a fourth solo piece, the orchestra walked on stage and took their places with her instruments and they accompanied the piano for a number of wonderfully composed pieces, Robyn finding herself moving her right hand as if she was conducting them, playing air piano, just out of habit as it would be her norm when listening to the music on her couch. Even though she was enjoying every moment, after half an hour of sitting as she was, she could feel a twinge in her lower back and had to move into her seat, feeling the nudge from Taron as she got comfortable in her chair and realised that the view from sitting in her seat was just as spectacular as leaning forward. She nudged him back and settled beside him, their arms side by side on the arm rest.

Robyn sat in her chair perfectly still, except for her hands tapping out notes along to the beat and Taron chuckled as she almost launched herself at the barrier again nearly an hour later as what he presumed was another of Robyn’s favourite songs was played and she was using the top of the balcony once more as an invisible piano, playing along, her eyes closed at one point for a long time, her whole body lost in the music. As the tune filtered to his ears, he recognised it as one Robyn had played a little bit of for him but judging by her hand movements, she had learnt how to play the whole song and getting caught up in her love for the music being played and her beautiful joy, leaned forward to join her, slipping his left arm around her waist.

Robyn felt the warmth on her right side and knew it was Taron but she was so caught up in the music, she didn’t really acknowledge him not wanting to miss a note or moment of bliss from the stage. Watching the Italian composer play live was such a different experience to watching videos on the internet and it was such an incredible feeling getting to see him play the pieces she loved to play and practiced constantly to learn.

As the music changed and he ran into his next solo piece, she took a long breathe as her most loved piece filtered to her ear and she felt Taron move a little closer to her. Closing her eyes, she was only aware of the music all around her, her hands copying every note perfectly in time with that played live in front of her and not even realising it, Taron had moved his right arm closer to her and she was taping notes out on his arm and even less so the two tears that trailed down her cheeks as she became entranced by the music. It had taken her weeks to learn this song, hours of sitting and playing but it was the most wonderful distraction from the mess her life had become and helped to heal a shattered heart as she concentrated on loving something other than a piece of shit of a man.

Taron knew he should have been concentrating on the actual composer but he was so taken aback by how quick Robyn’s fingers played out the beat of the notes on his arm, by how she hit each note perfectly and as he looked to her face, became concerned with how emotional she had become, how tears were on her cheeks, her eyes still closed, her focus once again on the music and he was yet again seeing a new side to her, that vulnerability she was slowly letting him see coming through. As the song slowed down and the crowd erupted, jumping to their feet in applause for the set of solo songs, he kept his arm around Robyn’s waist and hugged her sideways as they stood, watching as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. He dropped his hand from her waist and bent down to pick up her bag and routing through found a pack of tissues and pulled one out handing it to her.

“Thanks.”

“Means a lot to you.”

“So much.” Robyn dried her cheeks. “Got me through some shit times.”

Taking her hand, Taron sat back in his seat, Robyn back in hers and he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, not caring who was behind them and as Robyn lightly leaned against him, he was very happy to give her a little comfort as the orchestra picked up again and a more lively song played.

Robyn kept the tissue in her left hand, worried she was going to get overly emotional again and let Taron keep her right hand in his, both on his lap as they sat close together for the last twenty minutes of the concert. If she could have clapped harder, she would have and on their feet at the end, the standing ovation lasted a long time and Robyn stood and watched every musician leave the stage, a little bit of hope inside that there would be an encore but as the house lights came back on, her heart dropped a little but she was smiling and unbelievably happy.

Turning to Taron who had sat back down in his seat she sighed. “Thank you.”

“You are more than welcome.” He watched as Robyn sat back in her seat, another happy sigh filling her whole body. “Better than a Welshman with a Care Bear?” He asked her.

“Better than a Care Bear.” She answered. “Nowhere near as special as a Welshman.” She said firmly. “Thanks for the tissue.”

“No worries. You ok?”

Robyn nodded. “Sometimes it gets to me. He is my go-to calm down music so it brings up some memories.”

“I get that chicken. Happens to me when I listen to Bowie sometimes.”

“Remember when we said how Tiny Dancer has nice memories for us? And doesn’t remind us so much now of when you were in the ambulance?” She saw Taron give her a little nod. “I will listen to Ludovico Einaudi and play his music and remember this night. It only has good memories now.”

Taron stood up and reached for her hands and once she took them, helped her to her feet and drew her close to him for a hug, knowing she needed one and him too because once again he was getting a glimpse into a past he did not like and needed a distraction and hugging Robyn always distracted him.

She didn’t even hesitate to snuggle into him, her face resting on his shoulder as his dipped into her neck and as she brought her right hand to the tight hair at the back of his neck, she felt his smile on her skin and laughed as he lifted her off her feet for a moment before setting her back down. “You are setting the bar very high for the presents Taron.”

“And baking too.” He added, laughing hard as she lightly slapped the back of his head.

Robyn happily would have hugged him all night and the next day too, breathing in his familiar scent, just holding him and being held back in a loving embrace. Whatever damage Keith had done to her heart was mended in the last few seconds of that hug and as Taron kissed her cheek when he let her go, Robyn didn’t see Taron standing in front of her any more but a man who she knew she could turn to for anything no matter how small and if she did happen to call him in the middle of the night because of a bad dream, knew he would happily take the call without question.

“Robyn?” He asked watching as she stared at him, his eyes opening as she moved her face a little closer to his and placed the lightest of kisses to the side of his lips, moving to kiss his forehead in that loving way she always did.

“Thank you for everything you have done for me today.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” He winked.

“Oh dear, what else do you have planned?”

“Well, nothing but you never know what could happen.” He looked to the exit of the box and saw the stewards waiting patiently for them to leave. “Want to take a trip to gift shop on the way out?”

“Best birthday ever!” Robyn exclaimed, picking her shawl up from her chair. She had been so caught up in the concert, she couldn’t even remember when it fell from her shoulders.

“Let me.” Taron took the blue shawl and carefully wrapped it around her. “Don’t need you getting cold.”

Once Robyn had her bag, they walked out of their box, thanking the staff and Taron guided her back to the lifts and to the gift shop which was a little busy but he stood close by her side paying for the programme she picked up. He had called Anthony as Robyn browsed the items for sale in the shop and when they reached the place where the black car had dropped them off, Anthony was there waiting for them.

“Good evening Robyn, Taron. Have a nice night?”

“It was wonderful.” Robyn said, smiling as the driver used her name.

“Yeah Anthony. We had a great time.”

Taron didn’t even get a chance to make the first move to get Robyn to nestle into his side because before the car even moved, she had lifted his left arm over her shoulder and cuddled into him, her left leg crossing over her right, her left arm draped lazily over his stomach. His eyes closed a soft smile on his lips as she initiated the cuddle and he gave her left shoulder a light rub, feeling a long breath fill her body, so similar to the one had taken too. They didn’t talk to each other and once again it was Anthony interrupting the comfortable silence in the car to let them know they are at Taron’s apartment.

Robyn had her shawl pulled tight around her as she walked alongside Taron to his door, stepping into his dark home as he let her in first. She used the light of the door to find her way to the couch and sat down on the soft material, blinking a little as bright light flooded the apartment when Taron turned on the lights. She watched him empty his pockets, putting his phone, wallet and the programme onto his coffee table and dropped onto the couch right beside her.

“You lost your words?” He asked.

“A little.” She answered him.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Not at the moment. You have done so much already.”

“Always willing to do more.”

“As well as stealing my words.” She joked, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

“Want your care bear horse?” He asked.

“Nope.”

“Want some cake?”

“No thanks.”

“Want to change into your pj’s?”

“Nope. Wearing the fancy dress for as long as possible.”

Taron smiled. “Want a cuddle?”

“If there is one going.”

“Always.”

Robyn kicked her heels off and curled up onto her right side, leaning into Taron’s left, her knees resting on his legs, her head under his chin. She re-thought her position for a second and sat up before Taron could even get his arms around her and carefully took the hair comb from her hair and stretched forward to place it on the coffee table, moving back to Taron, tucking her body into his.

“Just in case.” She said into his shirt. “Thank you Taron.” She prayed he felt the squeeze she gave his side, the light kiss to his chest, hoping he properly understood how much the whole day never mind the evening meant to her.

Taron didn’t answer her but held her close, letting her snuggle right into him, very much enjoying the affection he could feel from her. He had never known her to be so quiet, always having something to say or needing to make sure he was ok but the tables had very much turned and he found himself perhaps for the very first time, because even when Robyn was having an off day, he was still her main priority, willingly letting him take care of her properly for once, letting him in, being a girl for want of a better word. There was no doubt in his mind that his wonderfully strong willed and stubborn Robyn was still there but as he placed a very light kiss on her hair, he very much liked the other side she was showing him, giving him the perfect opportunity to build her trust and be the man she deserved to have in her life.

Robyn lay with her eyes closed in a haze of happiness and love, adoring the beat of his heart under her ear and his stomach moving under her hand every time he breathed and it was always something that calmed her, knowing he was alive and well. She burrowed a little further down his chest and could feel sleep calling her.

“You plan on sleeping here all evening.” Taron whispered to her, feeling her body move a little after being so still against his.

Robyn laughed a little. “Maybe.”

“Would you not prefer a soft comfy bed?”

“You are soft and comfy.” Robyn answered, her eyes opening at she realised the words she had said to him.

Naturally Taron’s heart jumped as her response but he tried to hide it with a laugh. “And sleep in your dress?”

“It’s comfortable.”

“So, it seems.” Taron mused.

“What do you mean.”

“Robyn you’ve been asleep for the near part of the last two hours.”

His words made her sit up fast, surprise written all over her face. She reached for his left arm and her eyes opened when she read the hands on his watch. “Jesus Taron. Sorry! I didn’t even realise I had fallen asleep.”

He only smiled at her. “It’s ok. You seem to need the sleep. You did say you were a little tired earlier.”

“A little tired. Not in the need for a nap again tired.”

“Guess I was too comfy and warm.” He teased “You sure you are feeling ok? You are cold and tired, normally the sign of a cold and being the expert on hiding a cold, I should know.”

“I am normally cold and I guess just too much excitement today. I am sorry I fell asleep on you again.”

“Don’t be sorry. I did it to you last night.”

Robyn looked down as she heard Taron’s stomach rumble, a smile on her face. “I really do believe that you have not eaten all week and it is catching up on you now.” A look of guilt filled Taron’s features and Robyn didn’t miss it. “I know it is quite late but shall we get you something to eat?”

“Well, I had planned on having our little cakes but someone gave them away.”

“You have a large cake in your fridge but surely something more than cake would be better.”

“Chicken it’s after midnight.”

“Has the time ever stopped you eating before?”

“I doubt there is anything in my fridge that can make a meal.”

“Well let’s go and see.” Robyn went to get up from the couch but stopped and sat back down beside him and gave him a firm hug. “I don’t have the proper words to explain to you what today has meant to me and thank you just doesn’t cover it all but thank you.” She took her arms from around him and stood up from the couch, walking into the kitchen. “You want to help me?”

Taron nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat before he got up, praying for his racing heart to slow down, his hands to stop shaking. Just like that his protective Robyn was back and he wished she could just stop for more than two hours and let someone else really take care of her but he would take those two hours over nothing at all and he got to his feet, taking his jacket off as he walked to join her in the kitchen. He threw his jacket back onto the couch and stood beside her as she stared into his fridge.

“So, we got some peppers, mushrooms and milk that has been out of date for five days.”

“And birthday cake.”

“And birthday cake, two slices of left-over pizza and some tomatoes that probably have seen better days but are useable. You are really not eating at home are you.”

“My days are long and there is catering on set. I get home around eleven every night and crash on either the couch or my bed.”

“Breakfast?” Robyn asked him.

“Coffee.” He could feel the disapproving looks rolling his way as she closed the fridge. “I eat, I do.”

“You got any pasta?”

“Somewhere.” He moved past her and routed through his presses, finally pulling out an unopened packet of penne pasta. “What you thinking?”

“I know it is late but you feel like some pasta bake? Can be put together and made in about half an hour.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Taron followed Robyn’s directions as she asked for different kitchen utensils and as she got the pasta boiling, he was chopping up the peppers. He moved to the mushrooms and Robyn found some garlic and an onion as she looked for a baking dish for their dinner. She chuckled at him as he squinted while cutting the onion, the fumes from the vegetable immediately making him cry.

“Taron no!” Robyn called but her warning was too late and he already rubbed his eyes with his hands and she saw his flinch as his eyes stung more.

“Oh, ow fuck. Ow ow shit!” Taron dug the heel of his hands into his eyes as they reacted to the raw onion on his hands.

Robyn rushed to wet a clean tea towel and ring it out, moving back to Taron. “Here.” She took his hands away, using a little force as he protested. “Let me help you.” She placed her left hand on his right cheek and very lightly rubbed the wet towel over his closed eyes, hearing him groan. “It will take a few wipes.” She swiped his eyes again. “I am going to wet the towel again. Don’t touch your eyes.” Making a second trip to the sink, Robyn quickly wet the tea towel and didn’t ring it out as tight so it still held some water. She moved back to Taron who stood very patiently, his whole face a little pained with his eyes still closed. She used a little bit more pressure this time when cleaning out his eyes, but still being careful. “Ok open for me.” There was some hesitation in his movements and very slowly he opened his eyes, blinking a lot as he tested to see if they still hurt. “Any better?” She asked him.

“Much.” He blinked hard again and felt Robyn take his hands when he went to rub his eyes.

“Let’s not do that again.” His lower lash line was red and she could see he was still feeling a little the irritation from the onions he was cutting. “You have sensitive eyes.” Robyn said still holding the tea towel in her hands in case he needed it.

“Apparently so.”

“Me too.”

“Is that why you asked me to cut the onion?” He took the tea towel from her and wiped both his eyes again, the coldness from the cloth really helping to ease the tingle. “So you wouldn’t cry and do this?”

“Not at all. Just needed some help to cut the vegetables. I didn’t think you were going to rub your eyes with your hands like that. I will finish the onion if you would like.”

“Would you mind?”

“Not at all but let me see you before I give you a different job. I need to make sure you can see properly in case you cut yourself.” Placing her two hands on his cheeks, she ran her thumbs under his eyes. “You will live but I will get you to grate some cheese for me instead and I will finish the onion. Give your hands a really good wash first though.”

“I will.” Feeling a little stupid at what he did, Taron made sure to wash his hands thoroughly twice with soap and the moved the grate the cheese Robyn had set out for him. His eyes were still a little tender but he finished the cheese easily. “What next?”

“Frying pan with a little bit of oil.”

Taron got the heat on his hob going and added the garlic and chopped onion when Robyn gave it to him, giving the start of their base for the sauce a stir. Once it was soft, he took the vegetables from Robyn and added them to the pan and kept an eye on them as behind him Robyn chopped up the tomatoes and then using a potato masher she found, squished them down into a chunky sauce.

“Veg is done.” Taron told her as he gave the nicely browned vegetables in his pan another stir.

“Perfect.” She brought her tomato sauce over and poured it into his pan. “Keep stirring.”

“Yes chef!” Taron called with a light chuckle as he mixed everything together. “I miss this.”

“Miss what?” Robyn asked as she shook in some salt and pepper to the frying pan.

“This. Cooking with you.”

Robyn grinned. “Cooking with me or getting a fresh home cooked meal?”

“Both.” He replied as she threw in a pinch of some herbs, Taron not even knowing he had herbs in his kitchen. “I liked getting to do this in your home every night. It is not something I get to do when I am working so it’s nice to get the chance too.”

“Well, when you have catering and are working, I can understand why you wouldn’t.” Robyn checked the pasta. “But it is nice to cook something yourself.” She lifted the saucepan from the hob and moved to the sink, using the lid the drain the water from the pasta. “A home cooked meal is always enjoyable.”

“Yep. This is bubbling.”

“That’s ok. You can turn the heat off and come over to me with the pan.” Robyn now stood at the island with the drained saucepan of pasta. “Just pour it in here unless you want a smooth sauce. We will have to blitz it.”

“Nope I am ok with the chunks of vegetables.” He carefully spooned the sauce into the pasta and as he put the frying pan into the sink, Robyn mixed their pasta bake together. He came to stand next to Robyn and then had a second thought and walked to the coffee table to get his phone, turning his camera on as he walked back to his island. “Smile.” Robyn looked to him and smiled after he had taken his first photo.

“What are you doing?”

“I never got the photos last time of us making sandwiches in the fancy fancy clothes. I am not making that mistake again.”

Robyn grinned as she looked to her dress. “It is what we do in your London home now isn’t it.”

“Seems to be.”

Robyn transferred the pasta and sauce into the pyrex baking dish. “You want to sprinkle the cheese on top?”

“Please.” Taron added more cheese then was probably necessary to the top of the pasta. “Oven?” He asked once done.

“Yep.” Robyn opened the oven for him and he carefully placed the dish on the middle shelf and closed the oven door. “And in fifteen minutes or so we shall have some pasta bake.”

“That gives me enough time to change.” Taron said. “And if you want to take the dress off, you can too though I know you are becoming partial to a fancy dress.”

“I think it might be nice to put something slightly more comfortable on.” She ran her hands down the side of her dress. “And you know, in case I use you a pillow again, may as well be appropriately dressed for that.”

Taron nodded and they walked to the bedroom, pulling his shirt from his trousers and opening the buttons as he walked. “Fifteen minutes enough time for you?” He asked as he sat on the bed to take his shoes off.

“Loads. Won’t take me long.” Robyn took her toiletry bag from her case and some clothes to change into. “I will take the bathroom.”

Robyn closed the bathroom door behind her, dropping all of her belongings on the ground. She looked in the mirror and once again was taken back by the woman who stared back at her. A flush on her cheeks, a glint in her eye and with her whole posture straight and tall, Robyn smiled to herself. It had been a long time since she felt so comfortable in a man’s presence and the fact that twice in the last twelve hours, she had fallen asleep in Taron’s arms, just said so much to her. Not to mention that her emotional reaction in the theatre hadn’t made him run away either. She sighed and knew she had passed that point of no return where she would do anything for Taron and although that had been her way since she had met him, now it was because she loved him and loved him dearly. She quickly took off her make-up and unpinned her hair, tying it up out of the way, slipping into a pair of black running shorts and blue long-sleeved t-shirt, a sports bra on underneath. She left her toiletry bag in the bathroom, knowing she would need it in the morning and carried her dress out, giving the bedroom door a knock before she walked in.

“Come on in Robyn. You don’t have to knock.”

“Just in case you are in your nudey nudes.” Robyn chuckled as she walked into his room, Taron in his own pair of shorts and a t-shirt, hanging his suit back up in his wardrobe.

“No such luck chicken.”

Robyn laughed a little and put her dress on his bed, taking her garment bag from her case so she could keep her dress neat and tidy by placing it inside it. Once zipped up, she placed it laying across her case, Taron coming to stand beside her.

“Something smells cooked in the kitchen.”

“Probably our very late-night dinner. We should have stuck with the cake and some tea.”

“Really?” Taron asked as they walked back to the kitchen.

“Yep. It is so late. You are not going to sleep.”

“Robyn, do you even know me at all? Sleeping is my favourite thing to do and sleeping on a full stomach? My second favourite thing to do.” He stopped in front of the oven and carefully opened the door. “And that is done.” The cheese was a golden yellow colour and bubbling in the heat of the oven. “And looks delicious.”

Robyn watched Taron lifted the hot dish of dinner from the oven and placed it carefully on a heat resistant coaster so it wouldn’t burn his countertop. She grabbed two plates and put them in the oven before he closed the door and then turned the oven off. “The heat will warm up the plates for us so the pasta doesn’t go on a cold plate.”

Less than a minute later, Robyn took the hot plates out and Taron happily dished their home cooked meal out, Robyn stopping him from filling her plate too much.

“This smells amazing.” He said as he took a seat on a stool at his island. “Thanks for cooking this.”

“We did it together.” As Taron tucked into his food, Robyn filled two glasses of water for them, placing one in front of him. “Thank you. So good.” He said through a mouth of food.

Robyn smiled and sat beside him, picking up her own fork and tasting their pasta bake, agreeing with his comments. Their last meal, if you could call it a meal, was their afternoon tea which was over ten hours ago and the tasty pasta was filling and perfect even if they were eating dinner near one in the morning. Taron went for another scoop while Robyn filled her glass with some more water. She sat back on her stool, smiling as Taron polished off all of the food on his plate.

“I have a question.” He said to her as he picked up his glass of water.

“Shoot.”

“You admit to being cold but yet insist on wearing shorts to sleep in.”

Robyn smiled into her glass. “Well because you insist that we have to share a bed and we both know you just ooze heat from your core, I have to comprise by wearing shorts.”

“You don’t wear them at home?”

Robyn shook her head. “Pyjama bottoms.”

“So, the shorts are just for me?” He grinned, laughing when Robyn rolled her eyes and slapped his arm lightly. “Anything to be cosy right?”

“Yep.” She said through a yawn. “Oh sorry. No idea where that came from.”

“It has been a busy day.”

“It’s been a most perfect day.” She corrected.

“Let’s tidy this up and hit the hay. We can turn a movie on. You can choose.”

Robyn smiled at him. “Any movie?”

Taron went to speak but stopped realising what he had agreed too. He sighed. “Your choice.” He waited for her to pick one of his movies, waiting for her to say Rocketman but she surprised him when she told him he could choose. “Wait what?”

“I will watch anything and you know that.”

“Except anything scary.”

“Except anything scary.” She agreed. “Going by my sleep pattern today, I will probably be asleep before you, so you can pick.”

They tidied up the kitchen, putting their used plates in the dishwasher and once they had wiped the counters and sink and put the left-over pasta in the fridge too, Taron turned off all the lights and followed Robyn towards the bedroom.

“Give me two minutes.” She had stopped at the bathroom.

“Sure.”

After she used the toilet and brushed her teeth, she turned off the light and walked into the bedroom. Taron was still in his bathroom but she climbed up onto his bed, taking her side and slipping her legs under his duvet, shuffled down and laid her head back on the pillow. Her eyes automatically closed and she felt another yawn coming through, her hands covering her mouth as she stretched happily. She settled comfortably on his soft bed but her eyes opened when she remembered that she left her phone in her clutch bag on his couch. She kicked her legs to get the duvet off so she could get up to go and get it.

“What did my duvet do to you?” Taron asked as he wandered out of his bathroom.

“I left my phone on the couch. I was going to get it.”

“You stay there. I will get it. Mine is in the kitchen too.”

It took Taron less than a minute to grab their phones and he closed his bedroom door when he came back into his room. He handed Robyn her phone and crawled over the bottom of the bed to get to his side but crawled back when he remembered he hadn’t turned off the main light. They were plunged into darkness for about five seconds as Taron made his way across the bed again and was able to turn his bedside light. He slid his legs under his duvet too and laid back against his pillows. Picking up the TV remote, he turned his flatscreen on and went straight to Netflix, doing a quick scroll before settling on a random adventure type movie. Although Robyn said she would probably fall asleep pretty quickly, now that he was cosy in his bed, he felt the same and wasn’t too concerned with the movie he chose. He turned to lay on his left side, his arm under his head, looking to Robyn who was on her back, her hands on her stomach, fingers linked together. She was never one to sleep on her back and her still position made him smile a little.

“So that’s the end of the birthday cuddles then?” He chuckled, her head turning so she could look at him.

“I am just wating for you.”

“Sure.” Taron moved over to her a little and turned over onto his back, so their shoulders were touching. “I think you are just tired.”

“Happily so.” She assured him. “Best birthday ever.” Robyn turned onto her right side, slipping down the pillow so her chin was on his shoulder.

“Now you are ready for a cuddle.” Taron lifted his arm and Robyn moved so her cheek rested fully on his shoulder, her left hand moving to rest over his heart.

“Thanks Taron.”

“Anytime Robyn.”

Taron pulled the duvet up so it covered Robyn to her chin and reaching for the TV remote, he turned off the movie playing in the background and then his bed side light. He had no interest in it and happily closed his eyes enjoying the warmth from Robyn and the way as always, she just fitted right into him. He cherished these moments with her and before, where it was a need that pushed them together in the same bed and possibly convenience, now it was his own selfish need that almost pinned for her feminine curves against his side. Robyn was asleep within minutes of snuggling into him and his mind worried for a moment at her tiredness but with the excitement of the day and the emotional journey she went on, he just figured she was a little jaded. Telling his mind to shut up, to go to sleep, Taron turned his face so his nose was buried into Robyn’s hair and moved to place his right hand over her left which was still placed over his heart.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Here are some links to the songs that Robyn loved at the concert :)

**Ludovico Einaudi**

**Le Onde**

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg-0DFNTBm0>

**I Giorni**

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uffjii1hXzU>

**Nuvole Bianche**

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyY4IZ3JDFE>

I tried to put these in the end chapter notes but I couldn't make the link, so popped them in here instead. 

Just for some music content for anyone who might be interested.

Just beautiful songs.


	8. “The strength of a man isn't seen in the power of his arms. It's seen in the love with which he embraces you.”

_The inside of the 7/11 seemed so different and cold, darker than she remembered and as she walked down the confectionary aisle, a horrible shiver ran through her whole body. The shelf was pushed over and the baskets filled with bloodied cotton pads in nappy bags and water bottles were to the side of the aisle so she could walk through easily. The red check blanket was in a ball on the floor, the bloodied sling that held Taron’s arm on the ground too. An uneasy silence filled the store and she bent down to pick up a torn white t-shirt holding at it in her hands. Still ripped down the middle and shaded red on one sleeve, spots of blood on the back too, Robyn recognised it as the t-shirt Taron was wearing when they first met, her own hands causing the rip down the centre of the material. She stood up and dropped the t-shirt to the ground, her head turning as she heard a noise, a light whimper._

_“Hello?”_

_“Robyn?”_

_She would recognise the voice that spoke anywhere and it was quiet and full of pain and as Robyn rounded the corner, she stopped in her tracks with the sight that met her. On the ground, writhing in pain was Taron, his back fully arched, his hands shaking by his sides._

_“Taron!”_

_Sliding on her knees over to him, her hands went to her mouth in shock as she took in his bloodied body._

_“Robyn…” His voice was filled with hurt and distress and his back arched off the floor once more before his whole body flattened on the tiled floor. “Help me.”_

_She placed her hands on his bare chest, lifting them immediately and turning them around, Taron’s blood covering the palms of her hands. “Jesus Taron!” She put her hands back on his body wiping his skin, trying to see where all the blood was coming from._

_“It hurts.” He whimpered._

_Disturbed by the amount of red on his body, Robyn knew she needed to find something to help him. “I will be right back.”_

_“Don’t leave me!”_

_His voice screamed at her as she scrambled to her feet, tripping over the blanket on the ground, falling to her knees in her rush to get to the baskets. Her hands routed through the baskets and every bottle was empty and now there wasn’t a cotton pad to be found. “Fuck.” She cursed and got to her feet and turned around to grab the blanket but it was gone as was the white ripped t-shirt. Standing utterly confused, Robyn’s whole body froze as a heart-breaking cry came from Taron. She moved back to him, her hands going to his face, trying to stop him from trashing, from hurting himself. “Taron, Taron stop. Stop!”_

_“It hurts Robyn. Please make it stop.”_

_She moved her hands from his face back to his chest and ran her hands down his skin trying to find out where all the blood was coming from but there was just so much, his whole chest and stomach was covered in it. “I need to get something Taron to stop the bleeding, to see where you are hurt.” She went to move but he grabbed her hands and squeezed them so hard, he was hurting her_

_“Please don’t leave me!” He cried, green eyes filled with fear staring at her._

_She pried her hands from his and stepping over him, ran around to where the fridges were and pulling open the glass door, a gasp left her lips when she saw that it was empty inside. With shaking hands, she pulled open the fridge door next to the opened one and again there was nothing inside, only empty shelves. Turning around her eyes scanned the shelves behind her and there was not one product to be seen. Bare metal shelves stared back at her and as she felt her heart thump harder in her chest, the agonised yell from Taron hurt her to the core and she ran back around to him where he was still physically shaking on the ground._

_“Taron.” Her hands went back to his cheeks, his skin ice cold under her hands, his body convulsing violently, her hands leaving more bloodied prints on his face._

_“Help me.” He sobbed, tears mixing with the blood on his cheeks._

_Robyn took her hands from his face and pulled her t-shirt off and used it to try and wipe the blood from his body but every time she wiped at his chest, another stream of blood just pooled, dripping down his waist into the puddle he lay in._

_“Shit Taron. I can’t…. I don’t know what to do! It won’t stop.”_

_As quick as flash Taron stopped shaking and his face lifted so fast to look at her, he must have hurt his neck and where before his voice was pained and sore, his tone was now firm and angry almost accusing. “You promised me you would always help me. You promised me you would always be there for me no matter what, always look after me. What a lie Robyn. I know you could never help me, that you never cared.”_

_“Taron…” Robyn pressed her two hands onto his stomach. “No…”_

_“You can’t help me. Useless piece of shit.”_

“Taron!”

Sitting up in the bed, Robyn’s hands were shaking uncontrollably and she could feel the sweat dripping down her back, her heart beating wildly in her chest, her breathing hard and fast, so fast she found herself starting to panic. Tears rolled down her cheeks from the visions in her mind, the memories of her nightmare and she was really struggling to catch her breath. While she wrestled with her shaking body, an upsetting chill taking complete hold of her, something warm pressed against her back and she felt something strong slightly restrain her, holding her body tight and through the horrific haze of her nightmare, came a soothing soft voice.

“Shh shh Robyn it’s ok. Just a dream chicken, just a really bad dream.”

As he always did, when he shared a bed with Robyn, during his sleep Taron moved to lay on his right side, Robyn having already moved away from him so there was a natural space in the bed between them. He was always a deep sleeper, normally out for the count unless his alarm woke him or he naturally woke up because he knew he could sleep in but this time he woke when he felt something slap his shoulder and still half asleep, he reached to switch on his bedside lamp and then turned his head, his eyes opening wide when he saw Robyn trashing in her sleep, her whole-body trembling as she dreamt.

“Robyn…” Getting to his knees, he knelt right by her waist, so he could get his two hands onto her shoulders as she lay on her back, giving them a squeeze. “Robyn come on darling. Wake up for me.”

In the same way that her whole body gave in to the nightmare she had back in her home last year, Taron’s face watched as once again as she reacted to her dream, her beautiful face in a frown, her whole body shaking, his name coming from parted lips.

“Robyn, come on sweetheart. Wake up for me.” Taron moved to reach for her hands but just as her hand slapped his shoulder when he slept, in the same way her hand lifted and his cheek stung for a long moment as she struck him hard before he even got the chance to take her hand and he winced for a quick second, changing his mind on taking her hands, his going to her waist, soft bare heated skin meeting the palm of his hands. “Robyn, come on. Wake up for me.” His thumbs stroked the skin above her shorts. “Robyn, it’s a dream. I am right here.”

Her cry of his name was loud and quite frightening too was how she shot up from the bed, finally waking from her torment, her whole body still shaking, her hands trembling. He could see she was still caught up in whatever terrible trance she had experienced and without thinking moved so he was keeling behind her, his arms wrapping around her, using his strength to stop her lashing out again, his chin resting on her shoulder, his face in her neck, making sure he kept talking to her, whispering comforting words into her ear. “Shh chicken. It was just a dream.”

Robyn’s hands were still unsteady and it was a little bit of a struggle to bring her hands to her face as she felt something holding them down, but as she went to touch her face again, she found that this time she could, the hold on her arms easing. She wiped her eyes and then gripped those all too familiar arms around her tight. Once her head cleared the smallest bit, she instantly recognised the warmth behind her and that Taron was there and using that strength she knew he had to hold her to stop her from hurting herself.

“As long as you need, I am right here.”

It was the lightest of kisses she felt on her neck and she sank back into him, her breathing still quite hard, pulling his arms tighter around her so she felt completely encased by his upper body. It was a nightmare she hadn’t experienced in such a long time, that it shook her completely and when she wanted to close her eyes, she had to keep them open, focusing on the moles on Taron’s arms, to stop the imagines coming back to her but even though she kept her eyes open, she couldn’t stop her mind spinning and grabbing Taron’s hands, pulling them even tighter around her.

“Darling, I am not going anywhere. I am right here.”

Taron continued to hold her, not even attempting to ease his grip and it took Robyn a good twenty minutes before she took her hands from his arms. He ignored the slight pins and needles in his legs from kneeling in the same position for so long, only wanting to make sure she was ok. He felt her open his arms and turn around so she was keeling opposite him and took him in for a hug, her face burying into his neck.

“Thank you and I am so sorry.” She whispered hoarsely into his skin.

“Please tell me the dreams have all been like that.”

She shook her head. “Not at all. That was the first one of those since you stayed with me last year. I don’t know what brought it on.”

“Jesus Robyn, I can’t imagine.”

“I am sorry I scared you, again.”

“Robyn…” Taron sighed into her. “Want to talk about it?”

“You on the floor in the 7/11 covered in blood and I had nothing to help you. There was nothing on the shelves, nothing in the fridge and I pulled my t-shirt off to help wipe the blood and then it just came back.” She took a shaky breath. “You were in so much pain, screaming at me to help you and when I couldn’t…” Robyn trailed off.

Taron waited for her to finish her sentence. “Robyn? It’s ok. You can talk to me about it. I am not going anywhere.”

“When I couldn’t help you, you told me that I broke your promise, that I didn’t look after you, that I was a useless piece of shit.”

Taron knelt up to his full height and lifted Robyn off her knees as he hugged her tighter than he ever had remembered doing. “Let me tell you something Robyn Quinn, since the very moment that I met you, you have done nothing but look after me and before I even actually met you, you were looking after me. Don’t think for a minute that you have ever let me down or not been there for me because Jesus Robyn, I can’t even describe to you how safe I feel around you.” He let her go and finally got to look at her since she woke from her nightmare and her face was filled with worry and still that fear of her nightmare. “Don’t over think the dream. You are going to put it behind you as best as you can and I am here.” He grabbed her hand, pulled his top up and placed it firmly against his bare chest. “Right here in front of you. I will never not be here for you in the same way you are there for me.” Robyn nodded, her words failing her, her hand flat on his warm chest. “It is still less than a year. It’s raw and painful but together we get through it, as we always have and always will.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide still feeling a quite disturbed by her dream but slightly comforted by Taron. He was staring at her, his eyes so dark in colour, his chest heaving hard under her hand with the promise behind his words. She glanced over his face again and seeing a red mark on his left cheek, lifted her free hand to touch the redness. “What happened here?” She saw his eyes look to the side and she took her hand from under his top, her two hands going to his face to make him look at her. “What happened Taron? You didn’t have that mark going to sleep.” When he wouldn’t make eye contact, she dropped her hands and sat back on her heels. “Taron… Did I… Did I do that to you?” When he didn’t answer her but took the slightest of glances her way, her hands flew to her mouth.

“You were asleep. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“Oh my God Taron!” Robyn felt tears in her eyes. “I am so so sorry!”

“Hey none of that now.” He took her hands and gave them a squeeze. “It will be gone by the morning and you didn’t do it on purpose. I should have known better to get too close so to you as you were trashing in your sleep.”

Feeling completely deflated Robyn hung her head. Not only had she had an unsettling dream, she had hit Taron and her wonderful day was ending in tears. “I am so sorry.” She lifted her face an inch when his fingers tilted her chin and she reached up to drag her finger down his cheek, the bright red mark so obvious on his skin.

“It will be gone by the morning Robyn. Come here to me.” Taron moved, very glad to get off his knees and lay back against his pillows, opening his arms up for her, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Robyn come here.”

Very slowly, she crawled towards him and turned around, lying beside him, letting him drape his arm around her left shoulder.

“I don’t know if I can sleep Taron.”

“You don’t have to sleep. I wouldn’t even expect you to sleep. I just want you to lay here with me.” He stretched to turn off the light but stopped when he heard Robyn call his name, looking to her his hand hovering near the light.

“Please don’t turn it off. I don’t want to be in the dark.”

“Sure. Of course. We can leave the light on. You want to get under the duvet?”

Robyn shook her head. “I am roasting.”

Taron nodded. “TV?”

“No thanks. Can I just lay here with you?”

“Of course.”

She had no idea what the time was and was absolutely drained but could not think about sleeping but feeling overly hot and shook, needed the warmth from Taron, the unspoken comfort. Thoroughly rattled and still feeling a shake to her hands, Robyn buried them under her arms and leaned her head onto Taron’s shoulder. She couldn’t close her eyes and just sat staring at the curtains opposite her.

Taron had seen Robyn close up with him before, seen her revert back into herself, feel her freeze but it was the first time she had lain with him and not wrapped her arm around his waist or snuggle into him, instead choosing to just about lay her head on his shoulder. He could see she was really spooked by her dream and was very worried about her and a dreadful thought filled his head suddenly.

“Robyn?”

“Hmm.”

“Is being with me triggering your dreams?”

“I don’t think so.” She answered his question honestly. “I have spent a lot of time with you and never had a dream like that before.” She felt the sigh of relief from him, “It was something that was already happening, maybe not as severe as that one but I was waking up as night.”

“What can I do to help you?” He asked quietly.

“Just be you.”

“That doesn’t seem to be helping.”

“Believe me it is Taron. You have no idea what your friendship has done for me over the past few months and the dreams were bound to happen again as we get closer to August.”

“I want to be able to be able to help you the same way that you help me.”

Robyn could hear the slight desperation in his voice and she untucked her left arm and wrapped it around his waist. “I wish I could explain it better to you Taron but I am so emotionally tired at the moment that please just believe me when I say that you do more than you realise.” She moved her head a little further down his shoulder. “Can we just not talk about it for the moment.”

“Sure. Whatever you need.”

Her whole body shivered and she moved her hand from Taron’s body so she could pull the sleeves of her top down over her hands to keep the chill away, tucking her hands once again under her arms. She kept her head on his shoulder and was glad that Taron could read her and understand that at the moment she was just not ready for their usual cuddle and just rested his left hand on her shoulder. She felt the kiss he placed on her head and she moved a little bit closer to him so their bare legs were touching. She hoped he knew how much she appreciated his silent comfort and the little touch of his hand at the moment was all she could take, all she needed and she lay against him with her eyes open, listening to his beating heart, feeling his chest move as he breathed, watching as his movements slowed as he fell asleep. She could feel his head bobbing against hers and every time he lifted his head, trying to fight his sleep, waking himself from his slumber, his chin met his chest again and eventually it stayed there and Robyn lay still, making sure he was definitely asleep before she even thought about moving.

She knew she wouldn’t sleep, not even with Taron beside her and that was something she always wished for when she woke up from a bad dream but this time her dream was so much more vivid and different from any other and not being able to help him, hurt her and affected her in way it had never done before and being close to him hadn’t helped her in the way she had expected it too. His heat, though comforting in the beginning, was stifling now and she had already been feeling boiling when she suddenly woke so eased herself from under his arm, settling it against his side carefully, ensuring he didn’t wake. Her worries about him waking were not needed and he slept on, not a sound to be heard except his deep breathing.

Robyn left his bedroom and headed straight to the closet beside his front door, opening it and fumbling through his coats until she found the one he was wearing that afternoon. She routed in his pockets and as she thought she would, found his door key deep in the right pocket. Holding it tight in her hand, she opened the front door and closed it quietly behind her. She needed some air, some clear cold and fresh air and the only place she was going to get that was outside. In just her shorts and long-sleeved top, she took the door for the stairs and jogged down the steps in her bare feet, the thought of getting her shoes never even crossing her mind and having already made her way down five flights of stairs, she wasn’t going back up.

The first gulp of air was glorious and immediately her fuzzy head cleared and she inhaled the night air and took many deep concentrated breathes. It was something she had been desperate for as she waited for Taron to fall sleep and didn’t want to suggest to him a late-night stroll because she knew what his answer would be but she needed the air despite the fact it was so late. She took a look to her watch and sighed.

“Or too early in the morning.” The clock face on her watch read four fifty-eight in the morning. “Another sleepless night.” She sighed to herself, bringing her hands to her face to rub very tired eyes. 

She walked away from the door to his apartment block, heading towards the main gates, moving towards the rising sun of the early morning. Where she thought being with Taron when she had a horrible dream would help her, it seemed to have had the opposite effect and being beside him only left her unsettled. She had never had such a gory dream about him and where before she had tried to save him, done something to help him, this time she found herself at a complete loss, leaving him bleeding and it was his words, his reaction to her helplessness that had wounded her the most. Robyn knew Taron himself would never speak to her in such a way or ever accuse her of not trying to help him but it didn’t lessen the hurt she felt. She knew her feelings for Taron were changing, that she was becoming very attached to him, always thinking about him and always worried about him so being unable to help him was not only part of her dream but her reality too. It was always in the back of her mind that she might not have been able to help Taron all those months ago, that he could have died in her arms and although she was the number one preacher about how they shouldn’t think about that fact, it was one that was always with her and her nightmare seemed to be an insight to the deep inner workings of her mind.

Rattled and still broken by the images in her mind, Robyn walked in circles around the tarmac in front of the gates, trying to sort her thoughts out, to make some sense of her dream, to understand that it was only a dream.

Closing her eyes and deeply inhaling again, Robyn shook her head and tried to change her whole thought process, using her own advice that she gave out so freely. It was just a dream, granted a disturbing dream but still a dream. Taron was alive and well and sleeping upstairs and had given her the best birthday she could ever remember having as a grown adult. Full of surprises and thoughtful gifts, Robyn only wanted to concentrate on the nice things from the weekend, the beautiful bracelet that was on her wrist, the Care Bear that sat on the spare bed and the best two naps she could have taken. Taron had treated her like a princess, given her attention she had never really known from a man and she was so saddened by how in the space of a few minutes, it had been ruined so easily and then there was the fact that she had struck him hard as she fought against her nightmare and had left a visible mark on his beautiful face. Even though she had been asleep when it happened, she was still so ashamed of her actions, hating the fact that she had rose a hand to him.

“Miss Quinn?”

She turned, the light call of her name making her jump a little. “Ben.” She knew she was safe behind the coded gates, Taron’s apartment in a very private and guarded complex but she was surprised to see the security guard coming out of his box and walking towards her so early in the morning.

“Little late or should I say early for a walk?” He came to stand beside her.

“Just watching the sunrise.” She replied.

“In circles?” Ben gave her a half smile.

“Only way to do it.” She returned a small smile of her own, wrapping her arms around herself a little. “You catching the sunrise too?”

“Something like that.”

“You work nights?” She asked him. “I didn’t think that was needed at a gated complex.”

Ben chuckled a little. “Taron is just one of many celebrities who live here.” Ben used air quotation marks at the word celebrities. “The security is peace of mind for them.”

“I saw you earlier yesterday though. Surely your shift isn’t twenty-four hours.”

Ben shook his head. “I am working a few extra for one of the other guards. I finish at six. There are a few of us who do shift work here but so far you have only met me.”

“Well, I feel a little privileged.” Robyn winked.

“I am the best one!” Ben replied with a laugh and only then noticed her bare feet, seeing her look of guilt on her pretty but very tired features. “Probably best if you head back up to Taron’s though. If he wakes up and sees you are not there, he will be very worried.”

Robyn nodded and went to walk away but turned back, calling the security guards name as he headed back to his little hut. “Hey Ben?”

“Yes Miss Quinn?”

“Taron doesn’t need to know about my early morning walk to see the sunrise.”

Ben laughed a little. “I saw nothing.” Robyn gave him a smile and turned back when he called her name. “Thanks for the little cakes.”

“You are welcome. Only the best for my favourite security guard.”

With a light grin, she headed back to the door and walked towards the lifts. She told herself she was going to try and stay positive, put the dream behind her and lean on Taron as he had asked, making sure to give him the explanation he deserved after her few words during the night and apologise once more for hitting him.

Letting herself back into his flat, the heat of the room hit her full force after the cool air from outside and even though it was an open plan living area, it was still quite stifling inside. She left the key on the island and slowly walked to the bedroom and Taron was just as she left him, asleep sitting up though he had slipped down a little on the bed. He didn’t look uncomfortable and she wasn’t quite ready to try to sleep, so grabbed her phone and made her way back to his couch, sitting down but thinking for a second, stood back up and quietly went back into the bedroom.

She made her way around to Taron’s side of the bed and picked up the green dinosaur which had ended up on the floor during the night. She dropped it on the end of the bed, moved back to Taron and stretching over to him, kissed his forehead. She knew he had said that his room got warm during the Summer months and without thinking she very lightly placed her hand on his leg above his knee, feeling a very light chill to his skin, not as warm as she thought he was going to be. She moved out of his bedroom and into the spare room and after clearing the bed of her presents, pulled the white and blue check duvet off and carried it back into Taron’s room. With a slight struggle, trying her best not to wake him, eventually Robyn got the duvet over the lower half of his body, keeping his legs covered and warm. She kissed his head once more, feeling a little smile on her lips as he sighed in his sleep, his whole body moving down some so he was leaning more comfortably on the pillow behind his back.

She stood for a few minutes, wanting to make sure he was settled, chancing to run her index finger down the middle of his forehead and nose. She could feel her nerves settle as she watched him sleep and her cleared head could feel even more thankful for him and his actions to keep her from hurting herself as she dreamt, his strong arms around her until she came back to her senses. She knew for certain that she owed him a very squishy hug when he woke up.

She turned away from him and picked up the dinosaur and carried it back to the couch, sitting in the corner, cuddling the soft plush. Seeing her blouse on the dinosaur’s body made the first full smile in a few hours appear in her face. It had been one of her favourite blouses but she was very happy to leave it with Taron and thought it a fair exchange for his wonderfully cosy black jumper he had given her in Paris. Cuddling cwtch was a daily occurrence for her and giving draíocht a good squeeze, it was like she was hugging her own dinosaur, though she missed the faint smell of aftershave she always got from the blue plush, contemplating going to get her present of Taron’s aftershave but decided that was just a little obsessive with how he smelt, even though it was one of her most favourite scents at the moment.

Robyn was still feeling very warm, even after her stroll outside and wondered if Taron had his heating on full blast because she normally was always a little colder but her skin under her top was on fire. Needling to cool down again, she put the plush on the couch to her left and pulled her long-sleeve top off, throwing it to the side, picking up the dinosaur again. Taron was sleeping and with his overly busy week, Robyn was sure he wouldn’t wake up and walk in on her sitting down in just her bra and shorts and hugged the plush tight, the fur nice and soft against her bare skin. She stretched forward and reached for her phone, sitting back into the corner of the couch, tucking her legs under her, getting as comfortable as she sat and she immediately went to her favourite video of Taron. Knowing the person in her video was out for the count, after she watched her special video four times, she turned to her music app and went straight for the Rocketman soundtrack. She allowed her eyes to close, soothed by the music, finally feeling calm enough to do so though still a little nervous of what images could flash through her mind. Focusing on Taron’s voice, she used the songs which had such wonderful memories for her, to keep her mind in peace and her nightmares away, the music helping to further sort her thoughts out, to help her figure out what words she wanted to Taron in the next few hours.

It was a long stretch and groan that left his body as he woke up and Taron’s eyes opened suddenly looking to his left, a lump in his throat when he saw that Robyn wasn’t beside him.

“Fuck.” He cursed, his stomach doing a horrible anxious flip. He had wanted to stay awake, to watch over her, to be there for her if she needed him and he ended up asleep. Long days and a tough script always left him tired but he was so frustrated with himself for giving into his fatigue when Robyn’s need was so much more than his at the moment.

“Robyn.” A wave of panic filled him when he looked once more to the empty bed beside him and he moved quickly to get out of his bed when he saw that his legs had been covered in the duvet from his spare room. Sighing his kicked the duvet back. Even when she was struggling, Robyn still managed to do something for him, to look after him without question. He got to his feet and could feel a very nervous sensation settling low in his stomach as he quickly walked out of his bedroom. Thinking he might have seen her in the kitchen, his face fell when she wasn’t there and as he walked around the island, his eyes caught the key on the marble countertop and then they followed the way to the front door. It was the one he had left in his coat pocket after they came back from afternoon tea and he had no idea that Robyn had known he had left one there. She never missed anything and he felt his whole body tense up as some awful thoughts ran through his head about where she could have gone, especially when she had a found key to his apartment but seemly left it behind her. Wandering around London at night was no place for a young woman, especially one on edge.

“Shit!” He was mentally scolding himself. It was his chance to be the one to watch over her and he had left her alone and it just looked like she had left him alone. London was such a large city and he knew it was one of Robyn’s favourite places in the world and she could be anywhere. He got to his closet as fast as he could and pulled open the door, taking out a pair of Nike runners and reefing them onto his bare feet, a green jacket the first to his hands which he roughly shoved his arms into. He prayed Ben had seen something, spoke to Robyn and she hadn’t gone for a wander. He had his hand on the door handle when he remembered he didn’t have his phone and turned to head back to his bedroom, his hands running his over his head and down his face when sudden relief flooded him as he saw her on the couch.

“Robyn…”

Letting his whole body relax, his panic creeping out of him, he let his coat drop from his arms onto the floor and he walked over to where she was laying on the couch on her right side facing the soft cushioned couch, her back to him, her knees tucked up a little, right near the corner of his sofa. He sat on the edge of the coffee table and sighed. Dressed in her shorts and sports bra, he could only image how cold she could have been, knowing she always had a chill to her skin but then as they lay together, their legs touching, he could feel the heat coming from her, so when he really thought about it, he wasn’t so surprised to see her wearing so little and with some guilt, he automatically found himself licking his lips, biting his lower one a little, as he fully took in her lack of clothes and gorgeous womanly figure.

“Taron, just stop it.” He scolded himself severely, trying to ignore how his Robyn lay with so much skin on show and concentrated on the fact that last night she was truly tormented by her nightmare, so thankful she hadn’t actually left his apartment but slightly concerned she had left him when lately, she would crave a cuddle or a comfort from him when she was upset and he was so willing to give her whatever she needed last night and all she wanted was to lay her head on his shoulder. He was sure it was because she had been so upset because of not being able to save him in her nightmare, finding it difficult to let go of her old ways of retreating into herself and he did not want to push her at all.

He looked past her lack of dress and turned his attention to her upper body and saw that she held his green dinosaur close to her chest, her left arm wrapped around the green fur, hugging it securely to her, the dinosaurs head tucked under her chin. Her face was resting on her right palm and on the cushion in front of her face, her phone. She was asleep and peacefully so and he stood up so he could take her phone, easing himself back on the coffee table. He knew the code to her phone and once unlocked was met with a picture of his face on the Rocketman poster. He couldn’t help but smile, his head shaking a little. Of course she had been listening to that particular soundtrack, having admitted to him many times that she enjoyed the tone and sound of his voice. Putting pieces of last night together, Taron was guessing that Robyn hadn’t wanted to sleep and then took to the couch to listen to music to distract herself, but her own exhaustion had taken hold and she fell asleep, cuddling his green dinosaur too.

Relieved she was safe; he placed her phone to the side and then was able to take in the way that she lay on the couch in only a pair of shorts and black sports bra. Although still worried about her, his had to let his eyes have their little roam and he knew it was wrong considering the circumstances as to why she was sleeping on his couch but it was so easy to look, more soft skin then he had seen before on show. He had seen her back before and her shoulders, her strong legs too but all of it together in one go was so different and a little bit of him didn’t feel guilty at all for looking. Robyn had seen him in very little clothes too so thought it was fair game for him to do the same though if he wanted to be honest with himself, he would have given anything to have been able to cuddle Robyn as she lay right now, taking the place of the plush in her arms.

As his eyes wandered, they caught something he hadn’t seen before and he got to his knees, so he was right beside her and placed his left hand on her hip, kneeling to his full height so he could get a better at look at what he could now see was a tattoo starting on the inside of her left ribs which continued in along her body in a straight line, some of it hidden by the waistband of her bra. Completely taken back by his sudden discovery, he was desperate for a closer look and inched nearer to her. She lay snuggly on her right side and as her left arm hugged the dinosaur she helped him win at the beach in Ireland, it wasn’t blocking his view of her bare side and he was surprised he hadn’t noticed the worded tattoo before especially with the dress she had worn at his premier or even with how he had taken the dress off her that same night but then it wasn’t really a place on her body he had ever gotten the chance to see before, the start of the writing an inch or two in on her skin. Smooth and clear writing, the font was plain and simple with no shading and Taron could only see two and a half words as the rest was hidden by her clothes.

Not even thinking twice, he moved his left hand from her hip and with the lightest of touches with the index finger of his left hand, traced over the two words he could see and figured it was written in Irish, not understanding the words at all and he was so surprised by it. He knew she had piercings but just had never expected a tattoo on her body. Resting his hand flat on her side, he could feel her deep and steady breathing, the heat from her skin and understood a little better why she had slept with so little clothes on. He moved his right hand to very gently brushed some fallen hair away from her face and bringing his head closer to her bare left shoulder, placed a light kiss on the visible scar and then left his lips on her shoulder itself, leaving a long and loving kiss behind.

Lifting his head, he turned his wrist to check the time on his watch. Just before nine, Taron felt like it was later and even though he knew his sleep hadn’t been perfect, he was sure Robyn’s had been nothing but stressful and perhaps a little frightening. He got to his feet and went to the spare room. He could see where she had placed all of her gifts from him on the floor so she could pull the duvet from the bed to make sure he was warm. Still blown away by her thoughtfulness and need to care for him when she was battling with her own troubles, he opened up the wardrobe and pulled out a fresh clean sheet from the shelf inside. He fluffed it open as he walked back to Robyn and very delicately covered her legs and upper body with it. She didn’t feel cold but figured she hadn’t intended to fall asleep, hoping to stay awake and be awake before him so knew she would appreciate the cover the sheet gave her, wanting her to feel comfortable and not so open for his eyes to see when she woke, making sure he didn’t let slip he had sat staring at her for a while.

Not wanting to stray too far from her, Taron took a quick visit to the bathroom to freshen up, changing into a clean pair of shorts and t-shirt and once back in the kitchen, made himself a cup of coffee. He had brought his phone with him and hoovered over his mam’s number. He knew what his mam would say if he rang her for advice. She would tell him to give Robyn her space and to trust that she would talk to him when she was ready but he was so aware that she was due to fly back to Ireland that evening and he just didn’t feel right letting her go after her horrific night. Their time together over the last few months had built a very strong and trusting relationship and he knew she was a different person to the Robyn who had went through these nightmares before but he just wasn’t comfortable letting her go home just yet.

Scrolling up from his mother’s number, he called his publicist instead.

“Taron, what do I owe the pleasure of this call? You weren’t seen last night at the concert, were you?”

“No no nothing like that.”

“What’s up Taron?”

“I need you do to me a huge favour.”


	9. “The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there's no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others.”

After his call with Lyndsey, he felt better in himself and moved back to the couch where Robyn still slept. Taron had no idea how long she had been asleep and with it still being so early, had no intention of waking her. Instead, he made his way around his couch and very carefully sat by her head, easing himself so slowly onto the cushion so he wouldn’t jostle her. Without a second thought, he brought his right hand to her head and into her hair, drawing light circles on her scalp, letting his fingers run through the loose strands, cringing when they got caught in a little tangle, praying the slight pull hadn’t woken her. He stalled and waited and as she continued to breathe deeply, took his hand out and moved to a different part of her head, being so slow with his movements, taking such gentle care. Worried he was going to get her long hair knotted in his fingers, he moved his hand to rest on her left upper arm as she still hugged the plush tightly to her. Seeing Robyn so vulnerable looking, only made his need to love and look after her come forth so strong and knowing it was probably a stupid idea, ones he had often when he was around Robyn, he eased the cushion from under her head, replacing it with his legs, so she was supported only by him. So nervous and worried he would wake her, Taron felt slightly guilty for moving her because deep down it was his selfish need to comfort her that helped him make the decision to move her.

Holding his breathe, he felt her move once and then nothing, her arm still holding the dinosaur, her right hand now resting palm up on his inner right thigh. The sheet had slipped down her body and he reached to pull it back over her. She slept on and Taron was beyond happy that she was getting some rest and with the slightest of movements, stroked her left cheek. “I love you Robyn.” He whispered.

It was a different softness under her head which she woke up to. Her pillow was warm and the fur of the dinosaur she was still holding, lightly tickling her nose. She moved her right hand to scratch her nose and then laid her hand back down and heavily sighed.

“Always a cosy pillow.” She said, her eyes still closed. She knew without question that she was laying on Taron’s legs, the warmth so clearly different from the coolness of the cushion she had lain her head on earlier that morning.

“So you keep telling me. Maybe I am a pudding.” He joked, so glad to see her lips rise into a small smile.

“Not a pudding.” She said, her voice still laden with sleep. “Just so cosy.”

Taron took the chance to brush her hair, hoping he didn’t get his fingers caught in a tangle again and felt the very deep breathe she took.

Robyn opened her eyes, the white in front of them a stark bright contrast to the blue of his couch and as she watched the very light in and out movement of the white material, she quickly realised she was facing Taron’s stomach, her head nestled right on his lap, her right hand on his thigh very close to somewhere her hand shouldn’t be. She lifted herself from him and sat up, looking down as she realised what she was wearing and how close she had been to Taron. When she took her top off, she had kept it right beside her, knowing that if she heard movement from the bedroom, she could quickly pull it back on but her plan was ruined when she had fallen asleep and she woke up on Taron’s lap, his hands in her hair and she was wearing nothing but a bra and shorts. She had always felt so comfortable around him but her heart was hammering in her chest and she moved to sit crossed legged beside him, pulling the sheet that was covering her around her body. “Thanks for the sheet.”

“You are welcome. I thought you might have been cold.” Taron hadn’t missed the slight shock on her face when she woke up and realised she wasn’t wearing her top and he kept his eyes focused on his hands on his lap. “I woke up and found you asleep here and knowing how you are always cold, wanted to make sure you weren’t as you slept.”

Robyn saw the little blush fill his cheeks and knew immediately that was not the only reason why he had covered her up and she pulled the sheet a little tighter around herself, trying to keep the heated flush on her body from his eyes. “Thank you.”

“I got a bit of a fright when you weren’t beside me when I woke.”

Robyn had been watching him but when he spoke and looked to her, she couldn’t look him straight in his caring eyes. “I don’t think you actually realise the heat you radiate. I haven’t known someone to be so warm. Already feeling overly heated after waking up, I just needed to get some air.”

“Some physical air?” He asked, so glad Robyn finally met his eyes. “I saw my key on the island.”

Robyn’s hand’s let go of the sheet as she covered her face with her hands, looking at him through her fingers. “I am sorry I routed through your stuff. I just needed to get some fresh air. I really felt like I was suffocating inside.” She took her hands from her face, dropping them into her lap. “The air helped to clear my head a little. I just paced a bit out front, sorting my thoughts out, trying to settle myself. Ben was there with me.” She added quickly.

Taron, relived she had been honest with him as soon as he asked, reached for her hands. “There is twenty-four-hour security here.”

“So he was telling me. I didn’t stay out very long. Maybe five minutes in all. Got the start of the sunrise.”

Taron’s eyes widened. “Sunrise?”

“I sat with you for a little while after you fell asleep.”

“Covered me with the duvet from the spare room.”

“I didn’t want you to get cold.”

“Thought you said I radiated heat?” He asked with a small smile.

“You felt cold.”

“I felt cold? You feeling me up now?”

The laughter that filtered through the quiet apartment was desperately needed and Robyn felt the tension she had been holding, leave her body, giggling more as Taron’s cheeks blushed a wonderful shade of red, his head hitting the back of the couch as he let go her hands to hide his face behind his own hands. Robyn was still chuckling when he took his hands away, every facial feature filled with embarrassment.

“Jesus Christ Robyn, I am so sorry. That is not what I meant at all.”

“Just to set the record straight, I did not feel you up or even try too but rather placed my hand on your leg and your skin felt a little cold.”

“I am so sorry.” He apologised again.

“I am not. I needed that laugh. Really needed that laugh.”

“I am here all day.”

Still smiling, Roby moved so she could sit beside him, fixing the sheet again so not so much of her skin was on show and automatically leaned her head onto his right shoulder.

“You ok?” He asked her, feeling the light hearted atmosphere quickly change serious once more.

Although he tried to keep his voice steady, Robyn could still hear the underlying tone of worry as he spoke. “I will be and I know that is not the answer you want.”

“Not really.” He admitted.

“Thank you for last night, for just holding me tight.” She didn’t hear him answer and knew he needed more and that he deserved more. “Because we are so much closer than we were back in September and have spent so much time together, gotten to know each other so well, been there for each other constantly, having a dream where I could not help you at all, cuts me deep. I think it has a more significant effect because we have become so close and you are such a wonderful friend to me. It scared me Taron and you know I don’t have that many close friends so to dream about losing one of my closest, one who means so much to me, was horrible. I am sorry for closing up last night. I always need some time after.”

“Robyn you have nothing to apologise for. I couldn’t imagine wanting to be willing to talk so soon after such a dream.”

“It just takes me some time to calm down, to clear my head and think it through with some sort of logical thought.”

“Robyn you were there when I went to the gym, using exercise to do the same thing.” Taron lifted his right arm and wrapped it around her, so glad to feel her lean into him. “I would never expect you to just be ok immediately after a nightmare like that. I know you will talk to me when you are ready.”

“And it was what I was going to do this morning.”

“You can do it when you feel ready. Robyn there is no pressure to tell me.”

“And I know that but as I said, the fresh air does wonders to clear my mind.” Robyn moved into him some more and took her right arm from under the sheet and slipped it around his stomach, resting her palm flat on his waist, feeling the deep intake of breath he made as she cuddled him a little. “I still think about what would have happened if it all went wrong in Florida, how the responsibility of your life was in my hands the whole time. I know I always say we should focus on how everything turned out for the better but it still weighs heavy with me Taron and I think the nightmare last night was so much more extreme because like I said, we have grown so close to each other.” She felt him pull her a little closer to him. “I am sorry if you felt like I was pushing you away last night when I couldn’t hug you or cuddle you in our normal way but I was just so panicked by the dream and maybe felt I couldn’t get too close to you in that moment as I had dreamt about not being able to help you, about what you said in the dream and I know…” She said very quickly before Taron could even say anything. “I know you would never say something like that to me but you know, sometimes words can have a much more negative and detrimental effect than actions and it can instil a little fear.”

Taron roughly pulled his arm from her and turned around in his seat, grabbing her by her shoulders, making her turn too. His face was so serious, his eyes staring at her, the green of his eyes stunning in colour, Robyn had never seen his face so intense before. “I promise you, that I will never ever disrespect you in such a way, in anyway. I don’t need to tell you, again, that I would not be here if it wasn’t for you and as for last night and not getting a cuddle after you have had a sickening dream, I wouldn’t expect one, not after what you went through.” Taron opened his arms, Robyn leaning into his hug. “I wouldn’t expect you to forget what happened in Florida sweetheart. Out of all of us in that store, you were the one who held us all together, kept positive and kept us alive, got us all out. You were so strong for all of us, I am not surprised really that you are still struggling with it all. I don’t think you really ever talked about it in this way before. Not even to me and like we said at the afternoon tea, it is getting closer to August, hard memories are going to surface.” Taron moved to kiss her cheek. “I am so proud of you though. This is a different Robyn to one I knew last year.”

She smiled into his shoulder. “It is getting easier to open up but then I could always talk to you.”

“Good because I am always here for you and you know this.”

“I do.”

“So can I ask you something then?”

“You know you can ask me anything.”

“Will you please stay with me tonight?” Taron took his arms from around her but kept his hands on her shoulders. “I just can’t let you get on a plane today after last night, after what you have just told me.” He gave her sheet covered shoulders a light rub. “It doesn’t sit right in my heart, letting you go home so soon. I just need you to stay with me one more night so I can absolutely make sure you not only get a good night’s sleep but don’t spend the next twenty-four hours alone, throwing yourself head first into work.”

“Taron…”

“I just can’t let you go yet.” He said quietly.

“You are back to work tomorrow.”

“I am starting some night shoots tomorrow. I don’t have to be on set until five, six at a push.”

“Night shoots?” Robyn asked raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yes Robyn. Night shoots. It is when we shoot at night.”

“Taron, I know what a night shoot is but I thought you were shooting your interior scenes in London. Surely you are inside for those.”

“Most of our exterior shots are in Belfast but to make sure we keep to our schedule and make it to Belfast on time, Matthew has changed some of our schedule for next week so we shoot over night for a longer day.” He saw the look she gave him. “I can ring Matthew for you.”

“No need. I believe you.” Robyn moved a little, the sheet slipping down her right shoulder, Taron fixing it back up again.

“Please stay with me Robyn. One more night. I just need to make sure you get some proper sleep and spend today with me so you can talk to me when you need to, lean on me when you feel like it and to just give you so many squishy hugs, you will be pushing me away.”

She gave him a small smile. “I will never refuse a squishy hug but don’t forget I do have work tomorrow.”

Not expecting her reply, Taron also didn’t hear her giving him a straight out no for an answer to his request. He had been ready for a bit more of a fight from her. “Call Emma. How much over time did you work this week? I am sure you are owed something back, maybe a holiday day?”

Robyn moved on the couch so she was sitting properly, wrapping the sheet around herself again. “I can try.”

“So you will stay with me if you can?”

Robyn looked to the most kind and thoughtful man who sat beside her, one leg tucked under him. Taron had done nothing but think of her and what she needed since she woke up, not pressuring her to talk to him, not demanding an explanation of any sorts. She never had anyone, apart from her family, put her first in such a way and when he asked her to stay with him for another night, everything inside her melted and he could have asked her to run a marathon and she would have said yes to him. Desperation plagued her to just jump into his arms, bury her face into his neck but she held back and nodded at him. “One more night.” She watched as he moved his legs so he could sit beside her. “I really would love a proper night’s sleep before I have to go home.” She turned her head to look at him, a sudden realisation coming to her. “But Taron what about my flight? I am on one this evening.”

“I might have already asked Lyndsey to look at changing your flight.”

“Look at or actually change it.”

“Change it.” He answered a little sheepishly.

“You were so sure I would say yes.”

“I hoped you would say yes. I just can’t let you go yet.”

“So, Lyndsey has booked me a new flight?”

Taron nodded very slowly. “One at five tomorrow.” He hoped he had done the right thing by Robyn with his plan, his request and was still waiting for her to tell him she couldn’t stay with him, that her work commitments meant she had to go home. “It didn’t cost her anything. Just a simple change over.” He added. “It just doesn’t sit right with me Robyn. I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”

Robyn leaned her head on his shoulder. “Guess I will call Emma then.”

Taron handed her his phone. “Please.”

“I don’t know what she is going to say Taron.”

“I know but please still try, for me, for you. You need this.”

Robyn took his phone from him and unlocked it, his background another new picture of him and her from his premier. It was one she had never seen before, the two of them smiling and talking to each other and she had a sneaky feeling it was his mother who had taken it when they weren’t looking. Her heart beating fast, she tapped into the keypad and typed in Emma’s phone number. As she listened to the ringing tones, Robyn was completely taken back by Taron’s kindness and his question in asking her to stay with him one more night, not that she needed much persuasion. She honestly wasn’t looking forward to going home to her empty apartment after her troubled night and was touched by the Welshman’s thought process and how he seemed to understand what she needed and she needed sleep and a long tight cuddle from the most perfect man in the world.

“Hello?”

“Hey Emma, it’s Robyn.”

“Robyn? You get a new number?”

“Ahh no, I am using Taron’s phone.”

“Taron’s phone?”

“Yeah. Will you keep this number under your hat?”

“Don’t worry, I will. Do you even have time to call me?” Her managers voice playfully teased. “Shouldn’t you be getting pampered?”

“Something like that.”

“Hey what’s up?”

“Remember you told me I could use those overtime hours whenever I wanted?”

“I do remember a conversation about that.”

“Well, I was wondering if I could use them tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? I guess your weekend has been more than you expected?”

“And some.”

“Robyn what happened?” Emma could hear a tiredness in her voice and though she had told her supervisor that she could use her many overtime hours when she needed, Robyn had never once taken her up on her offer of using her hours for time off and it was very unusual for her to ask, especially on such short notice. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. Just haven’t had a great night’s sleep.” She felt Taron nudge her, trying to coax her on. “My nightmares have come back.” She said quietly. “And Taron has asked me to stay one more night with him.”

“You stay as long as you need.” Emma answered her immediately. “Take two nights, three if you need them.” She was very aware of the sleepless nights Robyn had last year, the young woman walking around like a zombie before Taron came to visit her, seeing the change in her after Taron arrived at the creche so was more than happy for Robyn to stay with him, knowing what a positive impact he was having on her life.

“One is all I need. Taron is back to work tomorrow night. I will be back on Tuesday morning.”

“He is so perfect for you.” Emma whispered on the phone.

“He is a wonderful friend.”

“Please look after yourself and Taron too.”

“I will.”

“And I am dying to hear all about your weekend.”

“It is has been absolutely perfect. Thank you Emma.”

“Enjoy the time off Robyn.”

“I will.”

Hanging up the phone, she handed it back to Taron who was smiling her way. “So you will stay with me?”

“Yep. One more night.”

His hug was slightly awkward and as he folded his arms around the front and back of her shoulders, he kissed her temple. “Thank you Robyn.”

“No thank you Taron. I desperately need a good night’s sleep and really don’t want to be alone today or tonight.”

“I won’t leave you.” He kissed her temple again and took his hands away, sitting back on the couch properly once more. “So, can I ask you something else?”

Robyn laughed lightly. “Taron you already got me to stay with you. What else could you want?”

“What does your tattoo mean?”

Robyn shifted in the seat so she was facing him a little and tilted her head. “Oh, you saw that did you? Thought you covered me with the sheet?”

“Well, I did and I didn’t. Well, what I mean is that I did cover you with the sheet and I wasn’t looking but it was just the way you were laying on the couch and because you didn’t have your top on and…” Taron stopped when he realised what he had said, slumping down in the couch. “Just no end to my word vomit today.”

Robyn reached for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Not at all. Would you like to see it?”

Taron looked to her. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.”

Robyn stood up and where she thought she would have been nervous letting the sheet drop, a lot of her bare skin on show, she wasn’t. Taron had done something for her that had only her best interests at heart and she was beyond happy to get another night with him, another day to just sit and be with him. She stood with her left side facing him and pulled up the black waistband of her sports bra, the whole tattoo on show for him. She felt so comfortable showing him, not even worrying that she was basically in her underwear in front of him. Taron had been nothing but respectful towards her and apart from a lingering touch, the same as which she had given him, he had never once made her feel uneasy. She was so relaxed around him and knew she had nothing to worry about letting him see a little bit more skin.

Taron moved forward on the couch, so he could really see the tattoo printed on Robyn’s skin. Still confused to how he had never known she had a tattoo, he inched himself a little closer. “It’s in Irish?” He asked.

“Yep.”

“What does it say?”

“Eiridh tonn air uisge balbh.” Robyn said, the words running like silk off her tongue. She grinned at his confused look. “It means a wave will rise on quiet water.” She watched as he lifted his hand ready to feel her skin but retracted back. “It is ok Taron. You can touch it.”

“You sure?”

Robyn rolled her eyes and took his right hand on her left. “It is fine.” She placed her hand on her ribs. “I won’t break.”

With a nervous look towards the woman who was freely letting him touch a very intimate part on her body, Taron was glad to receive the help from her to place his hand on her body and a further nod from Robyn as his index finger hoovered over the inked skin. He knew his touch was faint, barely letting the tip of his finger skim over the words and it was because he was trying so hard to keep his hand from shaking but also from not touching other parts of her body that were so close to his hand. With a second run, his movements a little more accurate and purposeful, Taron eyes followed the trail his finger made and as he rested his palm right on her waist, his thumb gently stroked the first word.

Robyn definitely felt the initial nervousness and hesitation from Taron’s hand as the first brush of her skin was slightly tickly but he as became more comfortable, Taron’s touch was so soft and careful and each run he made over her tattoo was more confident but he never pressed any pressure into her skin or ribs, keeping his fingers on her tattoo only. The heat from his hand was so gorgeous as he laid it flat on her ribs and she could still feel the slight uncertainty in the weight of his hand on her body, Robyn wishing that he would just put a little more firmness to his touch.

“I heard the ribs are the worse place for a tattoo.” He said as he moved back on the couch, picking up the sheet and handing it to Robyn, who wrapped it around her shoulders. As much as he loved how she let him see her tattoo and just dropped the sheet, standing in front of him in so little clothes, he didn’t want her to think he was taking advantage but also for his own fizzling blood and excitement, needed to see a little less of her curves and silky skin.

“It definitely wasn’t a pleasant feeling.” She agreed, sitting back beside him.

“You had it long?”

“About three years.” She saw Taron’s face change when he eventually put the timeline together. “Yeah after Keith. Just was the right time.”

“Is it a direct translation?”

Robyn nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. An old Irish proverb.”

“A wave will rise on quiet water.” Taron repeated. “They are some beautiful words.”

“Yeah they are.”

“Quite suited to you too.”

Robyn smiled. “Yep. Just something I look too when things get a little rough.”

“It’s perfect Robyn.”

“Thanks Taron.”

“Thank you for showing me.”

Robyn shrugged. “You had already seen it.”

“Really didn’t peg you as a tattoo person.”

“It was something I had always wanted and the right time came along and the words just seemed to suit my mind frame.”

“Robyn you don’t have to tell me anything and I know you have already had a bloody hard night but did Keith…” Taron felt a shake to his hands, a new frown on his brow and his body tense. He felt her move beside him and the hug she gave him was badly needed and as he rested his arms on her back, felt bare skin under his hands, Taron realising she had let the sheet go as she went to hug him tightly. He had to move himself again, so he could properly give his all to the hug and as Robyn rubbed his back, he closed his eyes, letting his forehead rest on her shoulder.

“Never.” She said firmly. “Not once.” She felt his exhale on her shoulder. “Near the end of our relationship, words were his go to put down method but no never.”

“I fucking hate that man.” Taron growled.

“I know.”

“Just what a prick.”

“I know.” The light kiss he gave her shoulder was very welcomed. “Thanks for asking me to stay one more night.”

“You are welcome to stay here for as long as you want, whenever you want even if I am not here and you are in London.”

“Thank you Taron.” Robyn ended the hug and placed her hands on his cheeks, giving his forehead a kiss. She took her lips away from his skin and moved her hands down his cheeks so her thumbs were in front of his ears, her fingers around the back of his neck. She let her thumb of her left-hand stroke over his right cheek, a faint red mark still on his skin from when she had hit him last night. Her face turned sad and she felt Taron place his hands over hers.

“Stop over thinking it. It was an accident.” He smiled as she kissed his cheek, right on the spot she had hurt him. “I have had much worse.”

“Taron!” Robyn scolded him.

He chuckled her way. “I will be fine and you will be too. I call for a low-key movie day with extra blankets, cuddles and cake.”

“I would love that but first I think I might go and have a shower.” She kissed his head once more.

“Sure chicken.”

Robyn got up from the couch, not bothering to bring the sheet with her but she picked up her blue top and walked past his legs but before she walked past the arm of the couch, stopped and came to stand by it, putting her hand on his left shoulder. “Would it be ok if I used your en suite?”

“Of course Robyn. Let me get you some fresh towels.” Taron got to his feet and walked into the bathroom and opening the large white press, took out two white towels. He had heard Robyn follow him and she was picking up her wash bag when he turned around to her. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Take as long as you need. Are you hungry? Would you like some breakfast?” Taron looked to his watch. “Or brunch?”

“Surprise me.” She answered with a little smile, so glad to see a smile fill Taron’s face too.

“Challenge accepted.”


	10. “The only difference between falling in love and being in love is that your heart already knows how you feel, but your mind is too stubborn to admit it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,  
> We have come to the end of another Robyn and Taron story. Thank you so much for all the love and comments and reads on this one. I am glad everyone had enjoyed it.  
> Robyn and Taron will be back in another story soon.  
> Suze xx

Taron’s shower was powerful even though it wasn’t a rainfall one like hers and Robyn stood with her head bent, letting the water pound on her shoulders, hoping it would beat out some of the tension she knew was buried deep beneath her skin. She had already washed her hair and her two minutes to let the conditioner sink in, had turned to ten and she finally opened her eyes, lifting her head so the water now ran over her hair. She definitely had an ulterior motive in asking Taron to use his en suite and his shower smelt just like him and once she had rinsed all of the conditioner from her hair, without a second thought, she reached for his shower gel, not missing the same lime one beside it like she had at home, squirting an overly generous amount of his onto her shower lily, soaping her whole body up, smiling at the lovely manly scent that filled the air around her, one that very quickly becoming a very calming scent to her.

Out of the shower, she dried her hair, the extra-long condition making it super soft and dressed in a pair of black ripped jeans and a blue tank top. She walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen where Taron was standing at the sink, the water running. She walked right up behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach, giving his body a tight hug from behind.

Surprised at first, Taron found himself laughing a little. “What is this for?” He asked. He had heard the hairdryer stop and knew she would be in with him soon but hadn’t expected the hug.

“Just ‘cos.”

“Well that’s as good a reason as any. Have a nice shower?” He asked as she took her hands away and came to stand beside him.

“Yeah. It was badly needed.”

“Good to wash away the night.”

“Yep. What are you doing?”

“Just filling the kettle. I felt like some tea. I have your brunch surprise ready.” He turned to lean his right hip on the counter. She still looked exhausted but her eyes were bright and her face not as sad as it had been and slightly disappointed that she wasn’t wearing shorts, he was still so very proud of her opening up to him, to accept his invite to stay another night with him.

“It’s not cake is it?” She asked him as he walked around her to put the kettle back on its base, flicking the switch in.

“It’s not cake.”

“Or left-over pasta bake or pizza?”

“No Robyn!” He laughed turning to her, so glad to see a genuine smile on her face. “I have actually made something.”

“From the cake and pasta?”

“Robyn!” He moved closer to her, his hands going straight to her sides to tickle her, Robyn backing away from his hands, her laughter such a sweet sound, one he didn’t think he would be hearing so soon. “You can go hungry if you want!”

She was still chuckling as she made her escape around the island. “No I want this magic brunch.”

“Well take a seat then.” He said gesturing to the stool at his island.

Robyn walked around towards him, her hands held up in a truce and sat down on the stool. She watched him busy himself around his kitchen, placing a glass in front of her.

“So whose shower wins the best shower award?” Taron asked as he pulled two warmed plates from the oven.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“I am partial to your shower.”

“Guess I win then.” Robyn said as he placed some cutlery beside the plates. “Do you want some help?”

“Nope. I got it under control and I guess you do.”

“So, I have the best couch and shower.”

“Maybe I win best shower gel?” Taron teased filling his cup with some hot water. He hadn’t missed the very familiar scent that lingered around her and it made his cheeks heat up with the realisation that she had willingly used his own shower gel.

“Maybe you do.” Robyn felt her cheeks heat up. “Hope you don’t mind. I forgot to bring mine in.”

“Not at all.” He moved to his fridge and took out a carton of orange juice. “You know you are welcome to use whatever you need here.” He filled her glass up with the orange liquid.

“Thank you.” She waited patiently for him to dish out whatever he had made for them to eat and though she wasn’t very hungry at all, she didn’t want to upset or insult him but telling him so. She knew he was already worried about her and had been so wonderfully patient and caring, she didn’t want to give him cause to worry more. Even after her wake up shower, she still felt a deep tiredness rooted inside her and she rolled her neck, trying to loosen up the tense muscles that still twinged after standing under the beating water for so long, her hands going to her neck to roughly rub her neck.

Taron was standing at his hob dishing out his brunch and when he turned around, he watched as Robyn sat with her head down, her hands under her hair, so obviously rubbing the back of her neck. In all the time he had known her, he had never seen her physically show an ache she had in her body and it saddened him that it was another pain she was feeling. Knowing how much she hated massages, apart from when someone played with her hair, as he concentrated on getting some food on the table, in the back of his mind, he tried to come up with a way to get his hands onto her neck to help rub out the clear and obvious spasm she was feeling.

Putting a smile on his face he walked over to where she was sitting. “And breakfast a la Taron!” He placed a plate of waffles and bowl with scrambled eggs and rashers in front of her and then added another plate with some toast cut in triangles. He came back with a bowl full of berries and then added the dish of Irish butter beside the toast and a tea bag to his cup, going to the fridge to grab some milk and his sugar bowl from the press. Once sure he had everything he needed, he took a seat beside her. “Hope this is ok.”

“You pulled this together quick.” Robyn was very surprised by the lovely looking meal he had fashioned together in about half an hour.

“Such little faith chicken.”

“Not at all. I have just seen inside your fridge. I don’t know if you should use that milk.”

“I might have popped out to the shop for a second. Restocked the basics.”

“You went to the shop?” Robyn asked twirling on her stool to face him.

“I couldn’t follow through with your challenge with only birthday cake and pasta and I was desperate for a decent cup of tea and I need milk for that. It’s only around the corner. Got a few things.”

“Berries and milk.”

“And bread.”

“And eggs.”

“Just some simple food I know you like. Don’t feel like you have to eat if you are not hungry. I know last night was tough so if it’s cake and pasta you want, it’s cake and pasta you can have.”

“Not at all. This is perfect.”

“Oh wait…” Taron got up from his seat and took a bottle of maple syrup from the countertop and placed it beside the waffles. “Most important.”

Robyn nibbled on a bit of everything, happy to mostly eat the fruit Taron had bought, but trying to make an effort of showing how much she appreciated the meal he had prepared especially when he went to the shop to buy most of the things but after a bit of picking, had to stop, her stomach starting to protest. While she barely touched the majority of what he had made, Taron must have been starving as he polished off a decent amount of food, refilling his cup for the third time.

“Thank you for this Taron.”

It didn’t go unmissed how little she ate, choosing the fruit over the more filling eggs and waffles but Taron let it slide, not wanting to push her or make her feel bad for not eating what he had prepared for them, so he nodded, picking up his cup. “You are welcome.”

“I will help you clean up but might just go and quickly give my mam a call to let her know I am going to stay here for another night.”

“Sure. I am going to finish my tea.”

Robyn left him at the island and headed back to his bedroom to ring her mam and while she was gone, Taron drained the last of his tea and did a quick tidy up of his kitchen, scraping the uneaten food into his bin. Still very troubled by her sleepless night, he was ready to crash on the couch and just be there for Robyn. Her phone call was very quick and he was wiping the island when she walked back into him.

“All ok with your mam?”

“Yep.”

“Doesn’t mind you are staying another night with me?”

“I am a big girl Taron. Don’t have to ask permission to stay over.”

“Even at a boy’s house?” He chuckled, wriggling his eyebrows at her.

“Maybe I didn’t tell her that part!” Robyn threw back his way, smiling as he laughed at her, watching as he threw the dishcloth on the sink, wiping his hands on a tea towel. “You cleaned up fast.”

“Not much to do.”

“I feel like I have been no help to you at all this morning.”

“Don’t be worrying. So couch and a movie?” He said coming to stand beside her, seeing her nod in agreement.

Taron led the way and sat right in the corner, throwing his feet up onto the coffee table, Robyn coming to sit on his left, the side she had always sat by since the 7/11, sitting comfortably beside him.

“What are you in the mood for?” He asked turning the TV on.

“I really don’t mind.”

“Something funny? Adventure movie?”

“Once it’s not a romantic lovey dovey film, I don’t mind.”

Clicking into his Netflix, Taron went straight to the action movies and flicked through a few, hoping Robyn would give more of an input but she was quiet as she sat beside him. He let a few trailers play and then clicked into one that seemed to have a decent plot, settling into his couch. She was right beside him, their shoulders touching and he slipped his left hand into her right, just letting her know he was there so glad to feel the light squeeze she gave him.

The movie was enough to keep her attention, a good distraction from her thoughts and she tried so hard to keep herself awake, to stop her eyes from closing but after struggling for so long, her hand went limp in Taron’s and her head leaned onto his shoulder as she fell asleep.

He wasn’t too sure if he was happy or not at how she quickly she fell asleep and his concerns were very much warranted when she jumped up awake so quickly after she had seemed to be deeply asleep and he wrapped his left arm around her as she sat hunched over a little her face in her hands.

It wasn’t another dream that woke her but that horrible sensation of falling and she knew she hadn’t been asleep very long at all, so grateful for Taron’s arm that was holding her close into his body. “Fucking hell.” She cursed to herself, running her hands through her hair.

“Robyn?”

“I am ok.” She let a long exhale leave her lips. “Remember in the 7/11 when you feel asleep and woke up so suddenly, it not only hurt you but startled you?”

“Yeah, it’s not a nice feeling.”

“Just happened. I am just not relaxed enough to try and sleep and my body knows it.”

“Come here to me.” Taron guided her into him as he sat back into the corner of the couch, her back resting against his chest. “Move down a little bit.” He instructed and was glad she listened to him as she moved her body so her back moulded into his chest, her head under his chin. “Pop your legs up darling.”

Following his instructions, Robyn got herself settled on the couch, her upper body leaning into Taron, her legs bent at her knees as they rested against the back of the couch. With the way he was sitting in the corner of the couch, she could neatly lean into him, her right side already feeling warm from his body, her left cushioned by the couch. She moved her arms over her stomach, linking her fingers together and felt Taron lazily drape his left arm over her.

It was the closest Taron could get to holding Robyn in the most protective way he could think of, while giving her the space he knew she needed but also letting her know he was right there for her. He knew he had snuggled so closely to her before, let her hold him so tightly in her arms but this was a new position for him and he desperately wanted to wrap his arms around her and just squeeze her but he held back. He wanted her to be comfortable, to feel safe and after getting another insight into her horrible past relationship, just to feel loved and protected. She still felt warm and it was actually starting to worry him that she was so warm, her skin always so cold to touch and he moved his left hand so he could place it over her enclosed hands to see if her hands were cold and he smiled as Robyn encased his hand in-between her two, finally feeling some sort of normal body temperature in her hands.

“Thanks Taron.” It was a cuddle of sorts and a pure feeling of security she felt from him and when she felt his hand rest on hers, she just grabbed it tight and brought it her to lips to give the back of his hand a kiss. Still blown away by his understanding of what she needed, Robyn held his hand in hers, feeling him settle behind her. She watched as he crossed his ankles, his feet still resting on the coffee table and she copied his movements, letting her legs lay flat on his couch in front of her.

“I am right here if you fall asleep.” He said to her, giving her hair a kiss, the scent of her shampoo, as always making his eyes close. “It is just me and you Robyn. It is only after twelve. We have all day to just sit here and sleep and talk if you want, or just cuddle together.”

“For the moment, I will take that last option.”

“It’s my first choice too. Do you want me to put on a different movie? Maybe something a little bit lighter? Maybe your DVD?”

“Definitely not my DVD.” She said. “Have you ever watched Sugar Rush?” She could feel him shake his head. “It’s a baking programme on Netflix. I think you’ll like it.”

Taron exited out of the movie and went into the search bar, typing in Robyn’s suggestion, a smile on his lips as the saw the photo associated with the show. “I think it will make me hungry.” He said as he pressed play.

“We have a full birthday cake in the fridge.”

“You don’t mind watching this again?” He asked as he dropped the remote by his right leg.

“Nope. I like this show.”

Robyn leaned a little bit more into Taron’s strong chest, keeping his left hand locked in her two, very gently rubbing her two thumbs over the back of his hand, her head turned a little towards the television.

“Why do you do that?” He asked her.

“Do what?”

“Rub my hand?” Robyn stopping gently massaging his hand at his words. “I didn’t say stop.”

She gave his hand the lightest of pinches before deeply rubbing her two thumbs into the back of his hand. “You like it.”

“I do.”

His words made her heart flutter a little. “Keith was a manly man.” Taron’s body moved under her as he laughed when she made her voice sound really low as she said the words ‘manly man’. “Men can’t appreciate or feel affection was his mantra”

“I am quite a touchy-feely person.” Taron admitted.

“Me too but it doesn’t make you any less of a man because you give an extra hug or kiss or enjoy this.” Robyn turned his hand over so she could stroke his palm.

“I really don’t like him.”

“I know.”

“Are you always so touchy-feely?” He asked, really enjoying how Robyn caressed his hand so lovingly.

“With you, it is very easy to be.”

“With him?”

“No.”

“He give you hugs?”

“Sometimes.”

“Squishy ones?”

“Never.”

He pulled his left hand from hers so he could engulf in her a cuddle, placing multiple kisses on her head until Robyn swotted him away with a giggle. “Stop Taron!”

“Just being affectionate.” He replied, swinging his left arm over her left shoulder.

“Hmmm sure.” Robyn gave his hand a little pull so she could hold it in hers again and without even asking him, started to lightly knead his skin, just loving the feeling of his large hand in hers, glad to find a simple but effective way to thank him for looking after her so well, her attention turned to the television as she moved her fingers over his knuckles.

It was a fun show and a very good distraction though having Taron’s commentary as he watched, was doing an even better job of making her smile as was his wonderful soft body under hers. It was a position of pure comfort and a long calming sigh left her body as she felt a sense of peace in her body and her mind. She felt Taron ease his hand from hers and so he could give her a little hug, leaving his arm resting down her left arm, drawing little soothing patterns on her skin.

The competition of the baking show immediately piqued his interest and three episodes in, he knew Robyn was smiling at him as he loudly voiced his sudden baking expertise. Although he was very much engaged in his new favourite show, he was relieved beyond belief that Robyn had finally become relaxed in his arms. He knew she wasn’t sleeping but happily lying with him and without a doubt he was very glad to keep her snug in his arms. With the way her head was tucked under his chin, he had the most perfect view of her body and he had at one point definitely taken a full look down the circular dip of her top. Having done so before in Paris, it wasn’t as naughty a look as the previous one he had and his heart hammered a little harder as it always did when he found himself taking sneaky glances at her.

One thing he did notice was that she wore a belt and in all the times he had known Robyn, not once had she worn a belt that he could remember. Maybe it was something he had never noticed before but having seen her in these particular pair of ripped jeans before he didn’t remember her wearing a belt. His mind started to think back through the weekend. Apart from that morning she had happily eaten everything put in front of her and even had made the pasta bake with him the night before but he couldn’t help but notice now, the little differences in her body as she lay against him. Telling himself, he was over thinking things and after her horrible night, of course she wouldn’t be up for eating that morning and just because she was suddenly wearing a belt it meant nothing and rubbed her left arm again, his eyes moving back to the television.

As the fourth episode was halfway through, Robyn was very sure Taron hadn’t realised that he had moved his right hand into her hair as he continued to comment on the cupcakes on the TV and he was very lightly brushing her hair over and over, the sensation of it so soothing. She could feel her eyes closing and leaned into his touch, Taron’s hand completely moving from her hair.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry.” She said tilting her head back to look at him. “It was nice.”

“Your hair has gotten long again.”

“Due another cut.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“But yet you can cut yours?”

Taron laughed a little, his hand going back to her hair. “Mine is needed for work.”

“Mine is needed to keep it healthy.”

“It’s perfect. Maybe needs some colour.”

Robyn laughed a little. “You did like the pink didn’t you.”

“Just a bit.” Taron’s hand moved to her head and scratched it in little circles. “Do you want some pink?”

Robyn turned a little so she was lying on her side and she could properly look at him. “You have some pink hair dye in your bathroom?”

“Not quite but I have something else.” He went to move but felt Robyn’s hands on his chest. “What?”

“You want to move?”

“Well chicken to get the pink, I need to move.”

“But I am so cosy. You make a good pillow.”

“How about I offer to do your hair?”

“My hair?”

“I know you love it when someone plays with your hair. I have an idea. Trust me.”

With an over exaggerated sigh and stretch, Robyn moved and sat up, letting Taron up.

“It will be worth it.”

Taron left Robyn on the couch, a smile on his face as he walked into his spare room and the en suite inside. He routed through the bathroom cabinet, still smiling when he pulled out the hair chalk set he had bought for his sisters when they came to stay but never used. He then walked into his bedroom and his own en suite and picked up Robyn’s hairbrush and a towel and made his way back to his couch where Robyn was sitting, once again her hands on the back her neck. He dropped the chair chalk very gently on the ground to let her know he was on the way back, knowing she would hate it if he caught her trying to rub the obvious twinge she felt out.

“Sorry!” He called, bending down to pick up the packet. Once back up straight, she was sitting on the couch as if she had been in that position the whole time.

“What you got there?” Robyn moved her hands quickly away from her neck when she heard the slight bang on the ground. She was pretty sure it was because she had slept on the couch awkwardly that her neck ached, the top of her shoulders too and she used any moment Taron wasn’t around her to try and hastily rub hard out the soreness she felt, sitting up straight as he walked over to her.

“Hair chalk.” He answered coming to sit on her left. “I know you only washed your hair a few hours ago but I thought maybe you would like it and it gives me a perfect excuse to brush your hair a lot.” Her smile was beautiful and he could see that she tried very hard to hide the enthusiasm she wanted to show for him to do her hair.

“I think I would like that, a lot.” She grinned at him. It sounded like absolute heaven and she couldn’t wait for him to get started, hoping it might also help ease the light headache she could feel too.

“Though you might.” Taron put the hair chalk and towel on the coffee table. “I think we should move to the floor for this.” His throw was on the end of his couch and he stretched over to pick it up. “We can lay this on the floor so we can still be cosy.”

“Facing the television so you can continue to judge the baking.”

“Of course.”

Taron set the cosy soft throw on the floor, pushing the coffee table forwards a little so they had more room, making sure the fluffy blanket stretched right into and under the angled corner part of the couch. “I don’t want to have to wash the throw because it will wash the lovely softness away so I am going to put a towel down too.” Picking up the white towel from the coffee table Taron placed it diagonally on the throw. He grabbed the packet of hair chalk and Robyn’s hairbrush and sat himself on the floor, leaning his back into the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him.

“I am ready when you are.” He said patting the space in between his legs.

“Can I have mermaid hair?” Robyn asked him.

“Whatever you want chicken.”

“Give me two minutes to grab my hair clips. It will help you.” Robyn stood up and walked into the bedroom and to her case, picking up her make-up bag. Once unzipped, she took out four small hair claw grips and carried them back into the living area. She didn’t mind at all that she had only washed her hair that morning and was very much looking forward to what she knew was going to be an epic hair colouring session. Taron could have offered to colour her hair black and she wouldn’t have cared. It was her most favourite thing in the world for someone to do for her and she was more than ready to let him brush and colour her hair. “Here ya go.” She handed the four clips to Taron. “You can use them to clip up my hair to get the full colour effect.”

“You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all and I only wish I could return the favour.” Robyn said reaching forward to rub his head. “I could try but I don’t think it would work.” She sat down on the throw, moving back a little so she was in-between his legs.

“When my hair grows out, you can colour it however you want but not green and not semi-permanent dye. We are not going there again.”

Robyn laughed. “I still hold firm to the fact that it was your own doing. Nothing to do with me.”

“Yeah sure.” Taron said as he picked up Robyn’s large hairbrush and ran it carefully through her hair. “Because you didn’t plant that bottle on your dresser.”

“Of course not. It was always there.”

Taron moved the brush to the top of her hair and brushed it through, smiling at the ease with how the brush slipped through her hair. “Hmmm…” He answered her quietly.

Robyn moved to sit with her legs crossed, her knees resting lightly on Taron’s own legs, already feeling relaxed as he brushed through every part of her hair. She could feel him running his hand flat down her hair after he brushed it and she chuckled as he got distracted for a moment by the cupcakes on the screen decorated with very intricate honeycomb shards. His hands stalled by his legs and Robyn turned her head around to watch him, his eyes locked on the screen, his face in awe of the cupcake presented to the judges.

“So I guess next on our baking list is cupcakes and I suppose we could make the honeycomb too.”

Taron realised he had been slightly ignoring his task at hand and felt a blush in his cheeks. “Sorry.” He brought his hands back to her hair.

“You don’t have to say sorry. The cakes on this programme are insane. I knew you would like it.”

“How do people come up with those ideas.”

“Professionals are pretty good at that Taron.” She chuckled as she felt her hair thrown over her face, using her two hands to brush it back. “Mature. So you don’t want to make cupcakes and top them with honeycomb then?”

“You can make honeycomb?” He asked fixing her hair back straight.

“It’s pretty simple. Just sugar and golden syrup and then adding some bicarbonate of soda when they are melted together. Pop it on a tray and let it harden and done.”

“Is there anything you can’t bake?” He asked gathering all of her hair together in a low ponytail at her neck.

“Lots of things. I just look up the recipes and they normally work for me.” She said to him, smiling as she felt him gently twisting her hair around and doing what she could only suppose was a bun.

“Next time can we make chocolate cupcakes with honeycomb shards on top?”

“Sure. You having fun there?” She could feel him clipping one of her hair combs in but her hair fell out of it when Taron hadn’t gripped the bun properly to the rest of her hair.

“How do you do those fancy hair styles? I can’t even clip your hair up,”

“Just a girl thing.” She shrugged.

“How am I meant to clip your hair up myself to get to the back to colour it?”

“Want me to do it?”

“Just show me how so I can do it for the next part.”

“Sure.” Robyn took the clip he handed her and left it balanced on his right leg and separated her hair, taking most of it in her hands, leaving the back of her hair down. She did a quick twisting motion and then twirled her hair into a bun and picking up the clip, opened it and caught her hair up on the top her head, the bun staying firmly put. “Like that.” She turned around to Taron, grinning at his blank face.

“Not a hope. Would you like to do that again but in slow motion?” He asked shaking his head.

“Sure.” Robyn took the clip out, leaving it on his leg again. “But this time you are going to do it.”

“I don’t think…”

“You are going to do it.” She interrupted him. “I won’t be able to see which hair is coloured and which is not and won’t be able to help you when you need to clip up the non-coloured hair so you are going to have to do it. It isn’t rocket science Taron. It’s hair. Now lift up my hair, leaving some at the back.”

Knowing she wouldn’t do it herself until he tried, Taron followed Robyn’s first instruction and lifted her hair, making sure some still fell down her back.

“Ok now twist it around and don’t worry about twisting it too much, it only needs a few turns.”

A bit confused at first with how he was meant to actually twist her hair, it took him four tries before he managed to find a way to rotate her hair and after five turns, stopped. “Ok now in the bun?”

“Yep as high as you can go.” It was so lovely having someone else do her hair and even though he did snag a few strands as he coiled her hair into a pretty tight bun, she did her best not to squirm and after another twist felt him hold the bun in his left hand. “And clip it.” She handed him the clip from his leg. “Use a second clip or a third if you need it.” Robyn felt the comb scratch her scalp and a second added before Taron took his hands away.

“Hey it stayed!” He said excitedly.

“Not a bother to you. Now you can colour until your hearts content.”

“I will be doing plaits next.”

“Don’t run before you walk rocketman. Plaits are a bit more complicated.”

Taron reached for the hair chalk and opened the packet, laying the five colours out on his right side. “I have a good teacher.” He said as he opened the pink chalk.

“Plaits are much more intricate. Lots of crossing different sections of hair.”

“Maybe I will stick to colouring.” He said as he took up some hair in his hands and dragged the hair chalk through it. “Last chance to back out Robyn.”

“Nope. I want mermaid hair.”

“Okie dokie.”

After colouring that one section pink, Taron divided the remaining hair into four other sections, giving each one its own colour. He then carefully took the two clips out and let her hair down, untwisting it as he went. As Robyn showed him, he separated some more of her hair and tied it back up again, finding his movements a little quicker, especially when there wasn’t as much hair to tie up. Just like he had done before, he sectioned off Robyn’s hair and coloured it but made the pattern different to the colours behind, making sure each colour was pretty pigmented though with the blonde colour in her hair, it was easy for each one to stand out. Once done, he brushed through all the loose hair, glad he placed the towel down on his throw as some dusty chalk fell from her hair. “Robyn, I might be ruining your top a little with the chalk. Possibly your shoulders too.”

“That’s ok Taron.”

“I might have put way too much chalk in. I just wanted the colour to stand out more.”

“It’s fine Taron. I don’t mind. It is only chalk. It will wash out.” Robyn happily sat as she was, tucked neatly inside Taron’s legs, smiling at the playfulness she could feel from him as he unclipped her hair and tied some back up again. “You are loving this aren’t you?” She said to him, moving her hands to tickle under his knees, laughing as he kicked his legs away from her touch.

“I have never had a girlfriend who would let me mess with their hair like this.” He said without thinking, his words pausing quickly. “I mean not that they wouldn’t, just… well yeah they wouldn’t.” He felt Robyn place her hands on his knees. “I guess it’s a girl thing.” Taron stopped colouring her hair green when he realised what he said and felt the second squeeze to his knees. “You know what I mean.”

“Colour away Taron. I don’t mind at all and yeah I do. I know what you mean.” Never one for frills, Robyn knew how easy going she was and she uncrossed her legs and turned around so she could give him a hug, followed by a kiss on his cheek. “I believe you still have half a head left to colour Mr Egerton.” She settled herself back on the throw and crossed her legs again.

Glad to feel his heart slowing down, Taron picked up the piece of hair he was colouring green and with the hair chalk still in his hands, dragged it down again. For once it was just a few of her words that brought him round and as always, he was more than thankful for her. He let the last section her hair down and shuffled a little closer to her back so he could reach the top of her hair. Working his way around, he coloured each little inch around the crown of her head, making sure two of each colour was visible. His hands were the same colour of her hair and he grinned as he finally finished and ran his hands through her hair from front to back, picking up the brush to make sure there were no tangles. “And done!” He cheered followed by a quick bless you as Robyn sneezed.

“Bless you!” He laughed again as she sneezed twice more but his smile turned when he heard a murmur of a groan come from her lips, watching as her hands went to the back of her neck again.

She couldn’t stop the first sneeze or the second but the third went straight to her sore neck and without thinking she brought her hands to her neck, to rub the skin roughly before she even realised what she was doing and when she when to take her hands away, felt her fingers being gently grabbed by Taron’s hands.

“Robyn?” His voice was soft and so clearly filled with worry.

“I don’t think I can sleep on your couch in the same way you can’t sleep on mine.” She shook his hands free from hers and dug her fingertips into her neck. “Just a bit of a twinge. I will be fine.”

“Can I?” He asked, placing his fingers over hers again. “It’s awkward trying to rub your own neck.”

“It’s ok. Just a small niggle.”

“Robyn…”

Every now and again Taron’s accent would creep back into his tone and as he said her name with a Welsh twang and she took her hands from her neck, letting his replace hers and with the lightest of movements, felt him move his hands to rest on her shoulders, the pads of his thumbs moving up and down with a feathery pressure, her chin falling to her chest as Taron was nothing but gentle with his strokes.

Robyn hated massages, always had but she had never been converted so quickly in those five seconds when Taron got his hands on her. Keeping the power she knew he had in his hands at bay, he was so tentative with his touch, barely pressing into her skin.

“Can I offer you even a little relief from a very light massage?” He asked her, feeling how she didn’t even try to stop him. “Just a teeny tiny one. I can loan you a voucher.” Robyn laughed at his words. “It’s already been a shit night; we don’t need to add a shit day to it.”

“My day has been brilliant.” She replied to him lifting her head. “I have mermaid hair.” She pulled her hair around so she could look at the colours. “That’s a good job Taron.”

“You avoiding my request?” He asked. “It’s part of your birthday present.” He teased.

“Nice try Taron.” She replied, moving so she knelt opposite him. “The birthday presents ended yesterday.”

“Maybe they didn’t.” He shrugged. “I just know from experience that it helps.”

Robyn smiled a little, looking to his innocent face, those deep green eyes. “Maybe a little one then.” She said tilting her head, watching as Taron’s face broke into a full grin. “A little one Taron.”

“A little one.” He agreed. “Let me just get something really quick.” He pulled his legs from around her and got to his feet. “Give me two seconds.”

“Taron…” Robyn warned.

“Two seconds.” He repeated walking around her and back into his spare room’s bathroom. He gave his hands a quick wash with some soap to get all the chalk off and then picked up a small bottle of massage oil, an extra Christmas present from his mates, slagging him off with what he could use it for. It turned out it was going to come in useful after all. Trying to keep his face steady, he walked back to Robyn who was still sitting as he had left her. He held up the small bottle. “Fair is fair right?” He said handing it to her while he settled himself as he had been sitting, Robyn reading the writing on the bottle.

“This is some fancy oil. Chamomile, lavender and argan oil? ‘Calming massage oil for sleep and sore muscles’.” She read.

“Perfect I should think. Sleep and sore muscles?” He held his hand out for the oil. “It was a present from Deian at Christmas. Thought I needed a helping hand.” Taron froze, his eyes widening as he realised what he said, that all too familiar blush flaming through his cheeks. “There is really no coming back from that one, is there?” He said, letting his head hit his couch.

“Not really, no.” Robyn agreed, feeling her own flush at his words. “So let’s see how good this expensive oil is.” She turned around, taking up her previous crossed legged position. “You will have to use your newly learnt hair skills to clip up my hair. I don’t think har chalk and oil will mix very well.”

“Sure.” His face was still hot and red and he could feel a little shake to his hands but gathered her hair and twisted it, before making it into a bun, using three clips to make sure it stayed in place, giving it a little jiggle to ensure it wasn’t moving anywhere. “Robyn you can tell me to stop whenever you want or if I press too hard and it won’t be a long one. I know you are not too fond of this but even ten minutes could relieve that little pain you feel and I will stick to just your neck, maybe a little of your shoulders, but no further.”

“I trust you.” Robyn spent a lot of her time wondering what would have happened if Taron hadn’t come to Ireland to find her and knew well she would have been stuck in the same old rut she had found herself in if he hadn’t of knocked on her work door and lately, thanked her lucky stars for his stubborn persistence in everything he ever did for her. Staying seated with her legs crossed, keeping the contact of her legs against his, Robyn let her chin rest against her chest ready to let Taron try and smooth away her ache.

To say he was excited was an understatement. Taron had thought about a moment like this for weeks, maybe even months but never thought he would ever get the opportunity to repay her with a massage of her own and was warming his hands together, rubbing his palms round and round to make sure his skin was warm before he touched Robyn. He picked up the small bottle of oil, still feeling completely embarrassed with his earlier words and poured some onto his hands, continuing to rub his hands together, now warming up the oil. He knew the first touch would make her jump and it was same when she first touched his shoulders but he rested his hands for moment before he moved his thumbs very lightly, the slick oil making it a lot easier than before. He only moved his thumbs, concentrating on her neck, keeping the pressure delicate and safe, smiling when he heard a tiny little appreciated sigh come from her.

“You ok Robyn?”

“Perfect.”

“Yeah?” He asked wanting to make sure she was truly comfortable and not just telling him so to make him happy.

“I won’t break Taron. It’s ok to press a little harder. I think the twinge needs you to be less delicate.”

“You sure?” He asked not expecting her to even suggest to him to knead her skin a little harder.

“I am sure.”

“Tell me if it is too much.”

“Will do.” Robyn said but she desperately just wanted to press her hands into his, forcing him to dig his fingertips into her neck. The combination of his always warm hands and the oil was perfect and she sighed happily again as she felt that deeper pressure she had asked him to give her. She could already feel an ease in the tension she was feeling.

Taron took his time as he rolled her skin under his fingers, at one point really pushing a little of his weight behind his thumbs, smiling to himself as he felt Robyn push back into his hands and he repeated the roll movement a few more times. He had happily worked on her neck for a few minutes and having gotten into a smooth rhythm, let his eyes cast over her shoulders. Freckles still littered her skin and he smiled at the memory of the ones on her nose which were long gone as her tan from Florida faded months ago. He took his hands away from her beck and poured some more oil onto his hands and once smoothed around his palms, placed his hands back on her neck, moving his hands towards her left and right to her shoulder, his thumbs once again doing all the work in rubbing her skin. Making easy circles, switching it up between large and small ones on her shoulders, Taron grinned as each freckle disappeared under his thumbs, only to reappear again. She hadn’t moved and under his hands, he could feel her breathing settle into easy deep breathes and it was the calmest he had felt her since she woke up from her nightmare and knowing he was well past his promised ten minutes, he continued to massage and mould her shoulders and neck, moving back to focus only on her neck, gliding his thumbs up and down, making gentle circles.

Robyn knew Taron was being so extra careful with his movement but the extra pressure he finally used was amazing and very quickly he had rubbed out her twinge but she didn’t tell him to stop and when his hands moved to her shoulders, she could have hugged him as she could feel every inch of tension she had been carrying leave her body. Her shoulders automatically dropped when he moved back to her neck and just the simple easy strokes were enough to further relax her. After her horrid night and holding herself so straight and rigid, she found Taron’s wonderful suggestion of a little massage the perfect medicine to help her touch base with herself again and when he took his hands away, she definitely felt disappointed.

“Two more minutes?” She said lifting her head and turning to look at him, glad to see his lips turn to a smile.

“Sure chicken.”

It was the quickest two minutes but when Taron finally took his hands away, Robyn felt completely relaxed and as she lifted her head, the twinge which had been bothering her was magically gone. She rolled her neck and sighed once again. She moved so she could face him and took his hands in hers, both still slippery from the massage oil.

“My turn huh?” He chuckled as Robyn now dug her thumbs into his palms.

“Something like that.” She said, keeping her eyes on his hands. “Thanks Taron.”

“Feel better?”

“Much.” She agreed. “I didn’t realise I needed it so badly.”

“Well I am always willing to help you out with that Robyn. Anything to ease any pain you feel.”

“I know.” She said, linking her fingers with his. “I know you are always there for me, no matter what.”

“Did I help change your mind about massages?” He asked, noticing how she had yet to look at him.

“Maybe.” Robyn answered him, trying to keep the smile from her face but it was so hard.

“I told you back when we went to the musical that I would.”

“Yes you did.” She finally took a look to him, his face full of pride. “Don’t get too cocky Taron. One little massage.”

“One can lead to more.” He chuckled. “You sure it helped?” He asked stopping her from rubbing is hands, by holding hers.

“It did. It really really did. See?” She rolled her neck around. “Thank you.”

“Anytime. So how about some birthday cake?” He asked, not wanting to linger on the subject of her massage for too long, feeling she would begin to get embarrassed soon, so was happy to bring their conversation in a little sneaky way around to food, hoping she would take him up on his suggestion of eating some cake. “I really need someone to help me make a dint in it before I am back to work.”

“You could always bring it into work.” She hinted.

“And let them know I can bake? No way. I will be hounded to bake more often.”

“Because I definitely don’t know how that feels.” She laughed a little. “I still think you should bring at least three quarters of it into work tomorrow Taron.” She let go of his hands and stood up, reaching down to take his hands again, helping him to his feet. “Thanks for pushing me out of my boundaries in a good way.” She said to him, pulling him into her for a hug. “Sometimes I just need that little extra encouragement and support.”

“Always Robyn.”

Once they ended their hug, Taron led her into the kitchen and as she sat at the island, he got the chocolate birthday cake from the fridge and cut one large slice from it, putting it onto a plate, moving the plate in front of Robyn. Grabbing the carton of milk he bought in the shop earlier that morning and two glasses, he came to sit beside her on a stool.

“And we will eat this with our hands?” She asked him picking up one of the treats from inside the cake up to eat it.

Taron bit his lip a little, a smile on his face as he realised he forget to get the forks and got to his feet to take two from his cutlery drawer. “I do believe you had no problem eating the cake with your fingers yesterday.” He said to her handing her a fork.

Robyn grinned. “True.” She used the fork to cut through the cake. “I want a fork today though.”

Laughing at her answer, Taron just shook his head, digging his own fork into the cake. Bit by bit he could see Robyn coming back to herself, her mood lifting, her slight slagging and giddiness a lovely relief to him from the stressed woman he had seen last night. He was thankful for her full trust in him, giving him the chance to help her in little ways, letting him do so and he very much enjoyed looking after her. It was just a tiny bit of protection compared to everything she had ever done for him but it meant the world to him.

Cake eaten and plates and glasses placed into the dishwashwer, the two settled back onto the couch, once again Taron taking the corner, Robyn took her hair from the bun Taron had placed in her hair, nestled into his side, this time on her own right side rather than her back, her head finding a cosy spot on his chest, her left arm wrapping around him. Safe and secure, Robyn smiled as he pressed play on the TV, the baking show back on the screen, feeling Taron’s voice vibrate in his chest as he began his commentary on the contestants on the show. It was the purest of comfort and one she always felt in his arms and she could feel her eyes closing but instead of being afraid this time to let her eyes close, she concentrated on the strong heart beat under her ear and the incredibly tight arm around her waist. Without a doubt, she knew Taron would never let anything happen to her and it was that knowledge of trust and safekeeping, that helped her drift off into a light slumber, a deeper sleep that was desperately needed following soon after.

Taron kept his hand tight around her side, feeling her breathing deepen after a while and the swirling nerves in his stomach took a while to settle, he was so worried she was going to wake again in a panic but after nearly forty minutes of just watching her sleep, Taron felt he could finally relax, knowing that for the moment, Robyn was too. Just thoroughly exhausted, her whole body had given in to her sleep and knowing she found his body warm and cosy, was relieved to see her sleeping. It was why he had asked her to stay with him. To just watch over her and make sure she wasn’t alone as he knew she would have been if she had of gone home. She needed the support and maybe for the first time, willingly accepted it without one argument. If she did wake, he was right there ready to give her as many cuddles as she needed, to talk her through her nightmare and hold her shaking hands. He just needed her to believe that she could fully trust him and lean on him and doing so would not lead to heart break. Feeling his own tensions leave him, Taron turned his focus back to the TV. He knew he would be able to feel any change in Robyn’s sleeping pattern as she lay against him so instead of staring at her, turned his eyes to the cake on the screen, his right hand moving over Robyn’s left arm as she cuddled him, keeping even more of a connection with her as she slept.

Her eyes fluttered open, a little happy sleepy moan leaving her lips and she nestled her head a little deeper into the wonderful warmth under her cheek. It took her a while to fully open her eyes and she was met with that simple rise and fall of Taron’s chest as he breathed deeply. She knew he was asleep before she even lifted her head and his arm resting over hers on his stomach made her smile. Keeping her close to him, she definitely felt more than safe in his arms. Trying not to jostle Taron’s arm too much, she turned her left arm so she could check her watch and was so surprised to see it was near three in the morning. The TV was quiet, that annoying are you still watching sign on the screen and the only noise in the room was from Taron’s deep breathing through slightly parted lips.

As her mind slowly woke up, it suddenly dawned on her that she had slept and slept so soundly, not waking once, still cuddled against the perfect man under her and he was more than perfect. He was the most caring and compassionate man, only ever having her best interests at heart and Robyn knew if she had of gone home, she wouldn’t have slept so perfectly for the last nine or so hours. Taron’s presence always calmed her when she was anxious and was always guaranteed a long night’s sleep when he was with her, a long and uninterrupted sleep. Turning her face, she kissed his clothed chest and was more than ready to get some more sleep to use his heat to keep her warm, finally feeling that chill her body was used to feeling but she could feel her bladder protesting and was desperate for a wee. His right arm was limply resting on her waist and having already slipped her left arm from under his right, she could ease herself from him without bumping him once, leaving him sleeping on the couch as she got to her feet, a long full body stretch filling her. She rolled her neck, so glad to feel twinge free and looked to Taron as he slept, her face breaking into a full grin as she saw all the colours on his white t-shirt where her head had been laying on his chest.

“Oh oh.”

Marbled pinks, blues and greens smeared his top and Robyn knew it was from her hair from the hair chalk. Glad it was only on his top that could be easily washed and not his couch, Robyn tried to think of how she could save his clothes from a colouring as she walked to the bathroom in his bedroom. All of the lights were still on and she groaned when she saw her face in the mirror so glad she woke up before Taron. Not only was his t-shirt stained like a rainbow, so was her right cheek and it brought a smile to her face as she rubbed her cheek. She tore some toilet paper off and after wetting it, cleaned her face, glad at how easily the chalk rubbed off, happy to know Taron’s white t-shirt could be saved. Dropping the wet tissue in the bin, she used the toilet and was washing her hands when she heard a very troubled voice come her way.

What woke him was a little chill on his left side and the weight that had been snuggled into him was gone. He loved feeling Robyn’s body tight against his and he had become so used to her sleeping with him when they saw each other, that he immediately missed her. His eyes opened, going straight to where Robyn should have been.

“Fucking hell. Not again.” He jumped to his feet, feeling a slight head rush with the speed of his movements and faltered a little until his vision cleared, his steps long and purposeful, almost in a run. “Robyn?” He called, glancing in the kitchen before making his way to his bedroom. “Robyn!” He shouted pushing the door open, his heart hammering in his chest, even more so when she came out of his bathroom.

“Hey. I am here.”

“Robyn.” His voice softer, he quickly closed the gap between them and pulled her into his for a very tight hug, her arm’s trapped in-between them as he held her close.

“Taron?” She had heard his loud worried tone and could feel how he was hugging her with a little too much force.

“You were gone again.” He said into her neck.

“I needed a wee and you were fast asleep.”

“Had me worried.”

“Yeah I can see that. I am fine Taron. Just nature calling.” She jiggled her hands, glad that he realised what she was trying to do, giving her some space to free her hands and once they weren’t caught between their bodies, returned his hug, giving his back a rub. “I am ok. I promise. I slept so perfectly Taron. Sorry to worry you.”

“I just thought…”

“Nope. Perfect sleep Taron. Not a dream in sight.” She felt his exhale on her skin.

“Ok.” He lifted her from her feet a little, then giving her cheek a kiss. “You sure?” He asked ending the hug.

“I always get such a nice sleep with you.” She said, feeling a little blush in her cheeks. “Not that I don’t sleep when you are not around but with you it is always that little bit cosier.”

“Same for me but I think you know this already. Nice to know you feel the same though.”

“I do and I must apologise for running your t-shirt. The chalk in my hair as rubbed all over your chest.”

Taron let Robyn go and looked down to his t-shirt, a smile on his face as he saw the new colours on the white, so obviously from Robyn’s hair and where she lay on him. “That’s ok. It’s a new design.”

“It will wash out.”

“Yeah it will. So you ready to come back and sleep some more? I am so glad you have slept Robyn. You needed it badly but it is still pretty late. I am sure you could so with a few more peaceful hours.”

“Yeah I think so too but let’s try and sleep in the bed this time. You and me have this thing about couches.” Taron laughed a little. “I hope you’re not going to end up with a sore back after sleeping on the couch.”

“Nah I am good but I do think moving to the bed is a good idea. Let me just turn off some lights.” He saw a chance in her eyes, a tiny flicker of panic. “We can leave the bedside light on in here.”

“Ok.” Robyn agreed. “I am just going to change out of my jeans. Meet you on the bed.”

“Sure.”

It was the quickest Taron had ever locked up his apartment and as he closed the bedroom door, smiled to see Robyn already under the duvet, sitting up waiting for him.

“Give me two seconds in the bathroom.”

“Take your time.”

When he was done, he turned off the bathroom light and climbed into the bed, sitting right beside Robyn, feeling bare skin against his legs, smiling as he realised she had changed into a pair of shorts. He shuffled down in the bed, opening his arms for Robyn and without hesitation, she took up a familiar position as to how they were laying on the couch.

“Want the TV on?” He asked her.

“Nope I am good.” Robyn rubbed her face into his chest, trying to find the most comfortable position and once settled, draped her left arm over his stomach, Taron’s left arm going to her waist. “Thank you for this weekend Taron. It has been the most amazing birthday I have ever had.”

“Really?” He asked finding it hard to believe.

“Even with the horrible nights sleep last night, I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. I got to see you and Richard and you gave me everything and more than I ever could have asked for. I can’t say anything but thank you for all you have done for me, for my birthday and last night. Thanks for being patient with me, listening to me and just caring so much.”

“Always Robyn.” He said to her, giving her hair a small kiss. “I am glad you had a nice weekend.”

“Nice? It was the best. Perfect.”

Taron chuckled at her words. “You are welcome chicken. Now sleep. I am right here. I am always here.”

“I know.”

Closing her eyes and trying to snuggle a little deeper into him, Robyn felt calm and relaxed, comforted in knowing that after everything that happened during the weekend, she could trust Taron and fully lean on him, feeling a little more of that broken heart she always struggled with, being healed with the kindness and love from him.


End file.
